


The Boy with the Bun

by Sylphid



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: DaiSuga is background, First Year Asahi, Fluff, Junior High Nishinoya, M/M, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-31
Updated: 2016-05-17
Packaged: 2018-05-30 08:26:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 23,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6416218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sylphid/pseuds/Sylphid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nishinoya was very fond of three things in life: </p>
<p>1. Volleyball<br/>2. Soda flavored Gari-Gari Kun<br/>3. That kid that he stared at for longer than he should have that had gorgeous eyes, hair, arms, abs, and a sad excuse for a beard--Azumane Asahi.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Welp. This is my first fic and I have no idea what I'm doing. Leave comments, and let me know what I can do to improve haha. I appreciate anything you have to say! On a side note, let me know if there's any interest in me writing from Asahi's POV every now and then. 
> 
> Anywho, I digress. Enjoy! (or at least pretend to)

“Nice receive!” 

Nishinoya let out a triumphant yell in response. It was the high-tension match between Chidoriyama and Kitagawa Daiichi that everyone had been looking forward to. The crowd was roaring after a particularly acrobatic receive that allowed his team to score--he reminded himself to give it a name later.

Nishinoya turned to the crowd, feeding off their boisterous cheers and supplanting them with a wide and cheeky grin in return. His eyes stopped though, when they reached a certain male that sported demure, slouched shoulders.

Scratch that; demure, slouched, beautiful shoulders. There were clearly some muscles that were pushing against the fabric that covered him. He examined him further, noticing a scraggly goatee--it suited him somehow, even if it barely counted as facial hair. Nishinoya’s eyes slowly floated upward, taking in the soft brown eyes that halted his visual journey. He finally reached the pinnacle of the trip, letting out a soft breath at the loose bun of hair that hugged the back of his head.

Of course, Nishinoya hadn’t realized he was staring until the boy started to turn a bright shade of red, color quickly flooding his cheeks, angling his eyes downward. 

Nishinoya whipped his head back to the court towards the shoes of his nearest teammate. Heat emanated from his cheeks as he scratched the back of his neck. Shaking his head, he tried to refocus on the game.

“Aw, Asahi-san, you’ll invite me to your wedding, right?”

“S-Suga!”

Through the corner of his eyes, Nishinoya spotted a boy he could only assume was this ‘Suga’. He had soft features--ash blond hair swept over his head and a dainty mole by his left eye--and he was sitting next to the man that Nishinoya had so conveniently ogled at a moment ago. He laughed heartily before being reprimanded by a man with dark hair and broad shoulders.

Suga pouted. “Lighten up, Daichi! It’s not everyday that we get to see love at first sight for our little Asahi.” Hardly little, Nishinoya thought to himself. The man that Nishinoya could now to refer to as Asahi sank even further into his seat--which frankly, Nishinoya didn’t think was possible at that point. 

A shrill tweet from the referee’s whistle signified the start of a rally, Nishinoya’s teammate sending the ball over the net with a swift hit. He grimaced as the opposing team received the serve with ease. Their setter, a boy with a perpetual scowl on his face, launched the ball with immaculate accuracy to the wing spiker on the right, who slammed it towards Nishinoya’s unsuspecting forearms. Time slowed a bit as the ball went sailing to the right and into the bleachers, towards a familiar boy with a scruffy beard.

Asahi let out a yelp and cowered as his dark haired friend stood and blocked the ball. Nishinoya was unimaginably embarrassed, yelling a quick apology and turning away as heat returned to his face once again. His neck became nonexistent as his head met his scrunched up shoulders. From his right, he heard a reply of ‘It’s alright, no one was hurt’, Suga waving it off in his peripherals. His shoulders relaxed slightly. 

“Jeez though, you haven’t even been on the first date and you’re already trying to get your balls on Asahi…” 

Asahi and Nishinoya spluttered simultaneously, the former spitting up whatever drink he had been consuming a moment before onto the boy named Daichi. The goatee boy let out a gentle shriek (if that’s even possible) before apologizing profusely to his neighbor. Smirking, Suga winked at Nishinoya before offering to get some paper towels.

So much for focusing on the game.

“What’s going on, Noya? It’s like you’re not even in it!” His teammate was right; his mind wasn’t focused on volleyball on the moment. His thoughts could linger on only one thing--Asahi. 

“Sorry! I’ll get the next one!” 

\---

They ended up losing the game two sets to one, much to Nishinoya’s chagrin. After lining up and bowing, the Chidoriyama team walked to the stands to thank the crowd for their support. His eyes drifted towards the soft spirit slumped in his chair. Surprisingly, the bearded boy smiled, refusing to turn away this time. He returned the favor with a little Noya flair, flashing the widest and brightest smile he could manage before walking right into the back of his teammate.

Asahi grinned sheepishly, trying and failing to repress his laughter. Nishinoya couldn’t help but stare again, silently thanking whatever higher power blessed Asahi with such a full-bodied, sonorous laugh. 

After talking about the match with his friends and fellow players, discussing what the end of the year would look like, Nishinoya gathered up his stuff and prepared to leave the gym, only to be stopped by the three high schoolers that had been watching him earlier. 

“Sorry to bother you, Nishinoya Yuu, was it?”

Puzzled, Nishinoya responded. “That’s me, but how--” Suga held up a program in response, indicating that he saw his name in it. 

“Plus, how could we not know your name after hearing the crowd chant it over and over again?” Suga joked, smiling at him with some of the most genuine kindness Nishinoya had ever seen. “What was it they were calling you… Chidoriyama’s Guardian Deity? That’s no faint praise.” All three of them smiled this time.

The boy named Daichi stepped forward to speak. “Nishinoya, we represent the volleyball club of Karasuno High School, from the Miyagi Prefecture. We’re very impressed with your abilities as a libero and were wondering what your plans for high school were?” Daichi spoke with firmness, though his last point ended with an increased pitch, expressing his intent for Nishinoya to reply. Nishinoya, however, was distracted by something Asahi fiddled with in his hands. 

“Is that a soda flavored Gari-Gari Kun?!” Asahi looked shocked as he placed a hand to his neck and slowly nodded, Suga chuckling quietly at his side. Suga’s lips slowly curled upward as a plan hatched in his head.

“Nishinoya-kun--” Suga started.

“Just Noya is fine.” Nishinoya interrupted.

Smiling, Suga started again. “Noya. We want you to come to Karasuno to play as our libero.” Nishinoya, keeping his eyes locked on the popsicle, perked up his ears. “As of now, we don’t have one, as our current libero is a third year. The spot would automatically be yours!” Suga then put his hand on Nishinoya’s shoulder and pulled him to the side, leaning over to whisper.

“But between you and me, I go to Karasuno because there’s a little shop nearby called Sakanoshita. It almost always has soda flavored Gari-Gari Kun.” Nishinoya let out an excited squeal in response.

Eyes wide, Nishinoya turned to the other two for confirmation. “Really?!” They nodded happily. “Well I don’t see why I would want to go anywhere else then!” Nishinoya said in an eager outburst. They all shared a cheery laugh, surprised at what little effort was necessary to sway the 159 cm ball of energy.

“Agh! We’ve neglected to introduce ourselves.” The gray haired kid extended a hand. “Sugawara Koushi. First year setter at Karasuno and mapo tofu enthusiast. Call me Suga!” he let out warmly. Nishinoya gladly shook his hand and returned the smile.

The boy with broad shoulders followed suit, also putting out his hand. “Sawamura Daichi. Wing spiker for the crows.” His handshake was firm, yet delicately polite. 

Suga punched Daichi lightly in the side. “He doesn’t let on, but Daichi’s got a mean receive.” Daichi groaned with regards to the unkind jab.

Nishinoya’s gaze finally fell upon the boy he stared at earlier, twice he reminded himself. Asahi stammered before giving his introduction. “O-oh. Azumane Asahi. But call me Asahi, I guess…” Nishinoya laughed loudly, slapping Asahi on the back, causing him to flinch.

“You’re a funny dude!” Suga and Daichi smiled at the interaction.

“Yuu! It’s time to go!” Nishinoya turned his head to where his mother was calling out to him. 

“I’ve gotta head out. But thanks for telling about your school! Catch ya later!” Running off, he waved goodbye to the three boys that tried to recruit him.

Under the guise of Gari-Gari Kun, he’d be able to convince his parents of his desire to go Karasuno. But the real reason he’d go… The gentle giant that had blushed so charmingly…

Nishinoya would go to Karasuno because of Asahi.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noya spends some quality time with his siblings.

Nishinoya had a problem.

Now, this wasn’t a problem that could be solved by normal means. Heck, he wasn’t even sure if the problem could be solved at all. It wasn’t his fault by any standard.

He clutched his chest and let out a cry of anguish: “Gari-chan, how could you betray me like this?!” Staring at the jubilant, open-mouthed mascot that held a sign that said ‘SOLD OUT’, Nishinoya sighed quite audibly and let his fist fall to his side in defeat. It was his hope that after a long day at the tournament, he’d be able to visit the local convenience store and buy a soda flavored Gari-Gari Kun to reward himself. 

He had no such luck. 

Then again, this problem was nothing in comparison to the giant problem he had, the giant in this case appearing in the form of Azumane Asahi. Normally, Nishinoya would be dwelling on the loss of the day, mourning its occurrence with the chilled flavors of a soda popsicle. Instead, he found himself honing in on the fact that he had neglected to get Asahi’s phone number.

_I was so distracted by Asahi-san and his popsicle--erh, not that popsicle!_

“Stupid, stupid, stupid!” he yelled at himself, pounding his fist into the side of his head and earning himself a couple of weird looks from pedestrians on the other side of the street. Muttering an apology, he stuck his hands in the pockets of his jeans and began the long trek back to his house. 

The sun was just starting to set, and the wind was dying down. All the birds were quieting, warbling soft songs of goodbye to each other. This mellifluous twilight was probably one of the few things that could calm Nishinoya down. Well, that and a Gari-Gari Kun.

Which he didn’t have.

As his house came into view, the moon had just started to peek over the hill in his backyard, Nishinoya grumbling as he took each step closer. “I didn’t get my Gari-Gari Kun, and I didn’t get Asahi-san’s number…” He put his hands to his face and let out a long groan before opening the door. 

“Nii-sama!” Nishinoya was startled by his brother’s tight grasp around his leg. “You were so cool today! The other team would spike it, but then you would save it like ‘Bwaaah’!” His brother, Shuji, looked up from his position around Nishinoya’s leg and displayed a wide smile. 

Nishinoya grinned and stuck his thumbs at himself in response. “Shu! You’re lucky to have such a cool brother like me!” He ruffled his hair a bit and pried him off his leg so he could get to the kitchen. 

“Mom, I’m home!” he yelled out as he opened the pantry to grab a jar of peanut butter. 

“Yuu, why are you home so late?” His mother’s voice was muffled, as if she were inquiring all the way from her closet. But if that were the case, she’d still have to yell really loudly…

_That’s a scary thought._

Nishinoya’s hands were rummaging through a drawer to find a decent sized spoon for scooping the peanut butter when he gave his reply. “I went to go get a Gari-Gari Kun, but they were all out of the soda flavor!” His voice squeaked on the last word, showing just how much of an emotional ordeal this was.

“Sorry to hear that, Yuu. Make sure you eat something for dinner!”

“Got it, mom!”

“And peanut butter doesn’t count!”

Nishinoya’s hand froze inside the jar. “O-Okay!” After he responded, he heard light footsteps beating on the kitchen tile, getting louder as they approached him. His sister, Noriko, was staring at the placement of his hand within the jar of sweet, thick goodness. 

“Nori. Not. A. Word.”

Devilish mischief grew on her face as she slowly opened her mouth and turned in the direction of the stairs. “Mo--” Noriko started, but her voice was quickly cut off as Nishinoya wrapped his hand around her mouth, stifling her words. With his other arm, he scooped up his sister, walked over to the couch in the living room, and deposited her onto the bouncy cushions.

With mock sadness, he grabbed at his chest, as if his sister had wounded him with this egregious betrayal. But an impish grin soon grew on Nishinoya, and he slowly crept over to his sister, arms outstretched in preparation for her punishment.

Her eyes widened in fear as she hastily apologized. “Onii-san, wait! I’m sorry!” But Nishinoya already had his mind set on the worst form of torture there was. 

Tickle torture.

His fingers feathered the sides of Noriko’s stomach, causing a bout giggles to bubble up in her throat. They started soft but rapidly developed into a high volume, high frequency laughing fit. 

“Shhh, quiet down, Nori! Mom will yell at me if you get too loud!” But Noriko wasn’t able to respond, her face turning red from the swift movement of Nishinoya’s harrowing hands. Rather, her laughing became even more erratic and even more violent.

As if she could see the living room from her bedroom, Nishinoya’s mother yelled down, “Yuu, are you tormenting your sister again?! Stop that before I have to come down and tickle you!” Nishinoya’s hands immediately lifted from Noriko’s stomach as his shoulders quickly shot up, a grim and fearful expression gracing his face. 

“This isn’t over…” he warned his sister ominously, slowly walking back to the kitchen. She flashed a cheeky grin in return before skipping up to her bedroom. 

The previous incident was quickly forgotten, Nishinoya humming to himself as he opened the fridge to see if there was milk in it. After all, how was he gonna reach the 160’s without his daily megadose of calcium?

While pouring his glass, his phone vibrated dangerously close to the edge of the counter. _One more,_ he thought, _and that phone will go over the edge._ His instincts were right; his phone buzzed once more before it began to teeter and fall off the brink. 

Quickly setting down the glass, he somersaulted directly to the counter, reaching out his hand just in time. The phone bounced off the top of it before landing on the ground without a scratch. Nishinoya let out a breath of relief, unaware that his younger brother stood at the entrance of the kitchen, eyes lit up in awe of what he just saw. 

“Amazing! Nii-sama is amazing!” A shocked Nishinoya quickly turned his head to see his brother staring at him with his mouth wide open. “That was the same move you pulled off earlier!”

Nishinoya smiled. “You have good eyes, Shu!” An idea quickly took form in Nishinoya’s head. “Say, I was thinking about giving that move a name earlier. You wanna help?”

His mouth opening even further now, Shu vigorously nodded his consent. “I’ll go get some paper and pencils for brainstorming!” he declared. The young boy quickly ran off to another room to fetch the supplies.

Nishinoya turned his head to his phone to find out why it was buzzing earlier. Wiping off the dust from the floor, he unlocked the phone to find a message from his good friend and teammate, Kumagai.

**Kuma: So Noya… We lost today.**

Wondering why he would say something obvious, Nishinoya typed out a reply.

**Noya: Duh. Did you hit your head or something?  
Kuma: So mean, Noya.**

He could easily visualize Kuma waggling his finger at him in disapproval.

**Kuma: Hm… I’m wondering how I should say this.**  
**Kuma: Well, I lost once today when Kitagawa Daiichi beat us.**  
**Kuma: But you… You lost twice.**

Nishinoya sat puzzled for a moment, before realizing--

Shit. The bet. He had forgotten about that.

**Kuma: What was it that you said, hm? ‘We’ll wipe the scowl off of Grumpy-san’s face’? Hah! I’ll be expecting you at my place tomorrow to pay up.  
Noya: Yeah, yeah, I’ll be there :/**

He pocketed his phone, not looking forward to his meeting with Kuma in the slightest. His mood brightened, however, the moment his brother careened around the corner of the kitchen, writing utensils firmly secured in his small hands.

“Nii-sama! I brought everything we’ll need to make the best name!”

Nishinoya patted the empty space next to him to get Shuji to sit down. “Well what are we waiting for?! Let’s give this move a title for the ages!” Nishinoya and Shuji whooped in unison before being verbally (and aggressively) reminded by their mother that other people lived and tried to sleep in their house.

Shuji was zealously writing words onto his paper, some of which, including super-mega-awesome, Noyaliscious, and volleyballerrific, were not quite dictionary friendly. He was slowing down, though--it was clear that he wanted to make his older brother sound really cool, and the effort was taxing.

“Guh… This is harder than I thought it would be.” breathed Shuji before letting his head collapse onto the table in defeat. 

Nishinoya displayed a hardy grin. “Well of course, Shu!” Placing his hands on his hips and puffing his chest out, he continued, “It’s super difficult to describe my awesomeness with just words!”

“Yeah!” Shuji exclaimed, his eyes twinkling with admiration. “I want the name to be able show how cool and quick you are!”

Now Nishinoya was the one lost in thought, trying to think of a way to characterize a somersault.

“Rolling… that could be the first word!” Nishinoya voiced. “Kinda like how… you roll during a somersault?”

“Amazing… Nii-sama is amazing!”

Shuji’s compliments never failed to take Nishinoya by surprise. He was almost embarrassed for a moment, before regaining his sanguine composure and smiling back at his brother.

“So now all we have to think of is something that’s fast.” Shuji intended it to be a question, but it came out as more of a statement. “That’s not so bad. Cheetahs are fast.”

“Rolling… Cheetah?” Nishinoya couldn’t contain the laughter that was building up from his stomach. It burst forth with a violent squawk, and before he knew it, Nishinoya was rolling on the ground, albeit not at all like a cheetah. Finally realizing how ridiculous it sounded, Shuji began to giggle, letting loose a few, unadulterated snorts. He soon ended up on the floor next to his brother.

Between large breaths, Shuji managed to mutter, “Alright, so maybe not rolling cheetah. But something like that, right?” 

Nishinoya retrieved the pencil that he had knocked onto the floor during his previous outburst. “Let’s just list a lot of things that are fast, yeah?” Shuji agreed with a casual nod.

With that, they silently went to work with their pieces of paper, writing down anything and everything that seemed even remotely speedy. The result was an odd conglomeration of things ranging from bullets to the lunch lady with the curly, brown hair. 

Nishinoya groaned. “Agh, why is this so difficult?”

Shuji abruptly sat upright. “Nii-sama, what about thunder? Thunder is fast. It goes all, ‘Ptooooom!’ and ‘Wakaaaa!’ and ‘Foooosh!’” Shuji blurted, with various arm motions accompanying his sound effects.

“Rolling… Thunder…” Nishinoya let the words roll around his tongue for a minute. Suddenly, he was on his feet and vaulting himself into an aerial somersault. “ROLLLLLLING THUNDERRRRRRR!” He had his arm outstretched as if to receive a volleyball, before rolling thunderously into the kitchen counter.

“Although, isn’t lightning faster than thunder…?” Shuji muttered under his breath before shaking his head and smiling at his older brother, who seemed utterly unfazed by the fact that a giant lump was appearing on the back of his head.

“ROLLING THUNDER!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I deeply apologize. I realize that I mentioned Asahi like once before I completely forgot about him for the rest of the chapter. But I can't help it! Nice-brother-Nishinoya is just so wonderful... Anywho, comments are appreciated! I'll try to get Asahi into the next chapter, maybe linking it to the bet...? I dunno. Hope you enjoyed!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nishinoya settles a bet and a lot of people are flustered.

The trip to Kumagai’s house was a short one, involving only one street crossing and two right-hand turns. But for Nishinoya, the walk of shame lasted far too long a time. In fact, perhaps a bit too long.

_Did I take a wrong turn somewhere…?_

He probably should’ve expected he would get lost. It was in his nature to have it happen at least once a week. His mom once tried to have him leave bread crumbs behind him as he walked somewhere, but that failed utterly, as he ended up eating all of them before he got even a kilometer away. 

Turning onto a new street, he noticed two people with familiar silver hair and broad shoulders running in the distance. Slowly, the faint figures grew larger and clearer as they ran down the road. Squinting his eyes to confirm it was them, Nishinoya raised his arm and waved enthusiastically to the incoming Suga and Daichi.

Suga shot him a bright smile, eyes nearly closed. “Hey! Asahi’s Guardian Deity!” 

Nishinoya turned an intense shade of red and looked down at the ground before replying to him. “N-Noya is just fine,” he stammered, stomping his foot a little as he tried to get the words out. He let out a long breath before finally recovering. “What’re you guys doing here? I didn’t know you lived this close to me!”

“I don’t. Suga does,” Daichi responded calmly. 

“Ah, you don’t give yourself enough credit, Daichi!” He casually slung his arm over his companion’s neck and continued: “This guy ran five kilometers to get to my house, and now he’s running even more! It’s no wonder, then,” Suga started, before violently slapping one of Daichi’s thighs, “that he has quads like these!”

Groaning in pain, Daichi added, “Suga, I don’t think that’s how it works…”

“Sure it is!” teased Suga, who was now gently massaging Daichi’s reddening thigh. “So what’s an upcoming high schooler like you doing outside at ten on a Saturday?”

“I lost a bet with my friend,” Nishinoya grumbled while pouting at the ground.

“And so you were forced to walk around at such an early time for a Saturday? Harsh,” Suga joked, making a face of mock despair. Nishinoya shook his head quickly in response.

“I… kinda got lost, I guess,” Nishinoya muttered, embarrassed by his lack of sense of direction. “I’m supposed to be meeting my friend at his house.”

“Well, what block does he live in?” Daichi questioned.

Nishinoya stood still for a moment while searching for the number in his head. “24. Building 8.” _Probably._

Daichi and Suga briefly looked at each other before bursting into laughter, Daichi leaning back and huffing, and Suga leaning forward while clutching his chest. “That’s in the complete opposite direction of where you’re going right now, Noya!” Suga snickered.

_Oh._

“Lucky you ran into us, eh? Guess you’ll just have to run with us for a bit, ‘cause we aren’t gonna slow down for a libero!” proclaimed Suga with a devilish gleam in his eyes. Taking it as a challenge, Nishinoya grinned back at Suga, tightening his shoelaces and stretching his hamstrings before running in line beside them.

Nishinoya was a naturally talented sprinter, being able to quickly travel to a volleyball’s location before it reached the ground. Long-distance running, however, was an entirely different beast. Before long, he was panting and wheezing alongside the pair of high schoolers.

“Tired already, Nishinoya?” Daichi queried. “You really need to build up your endurance. It’ll do wonders for you later down the road.” He probably meant it in a concerning and helpful way, but the sentence came out rather stern.

“You’re not… my father,” panted Nishinoya.

Daichi was taken aback by the comment, managing a choppy “W-well, yeah!” This time the comment was angrier than he intended. 

“Ah, Daichi, no need to get flustered. After all, your endurance is perfectly fine! I’m surprised you lasted so long last night,” Suga cooed, while Daichi immediately shifted into a crimson hue.

“Kou-S-Suga!” he managed to get out before turning away so that Nishinoya couldn’t see his embarrassment. But there was no need to worry, as Suga’s review of Daichi went completely over the head of the 159 cm dynamo.

With Suga chuckling, Daichi shrinking into his shoulders, and Nishinoya panting, they continued their run to Kumagai’s house.

\---

Having successfully helped Nishinoya navigate to his friend’s house, Suga and Daichi waved goodbye before departing in the direction they came from. Kumagai stood on the porch with his arms crossed in front of his chest. With a teasing face, he called to Nishinoya: “Oi, what took you so long?”

Gasping for air, Nishinoya replied. “Got… lost…”

“Again? Yeesh, how many times have you been to my house, Noya…” Kumagai’s bright red hair fell over his face, blown about by the slight breeze that came with the morning. 

Having recovered slightly, Nishinoya was able to respond with a fluent sentence this time around. “You know I’ve never been good with directions,” he conceded. 

“You’re hopeless.”

“Shut up!”

Smirking, Kumagai walked over to Nishinoya. “I hope you’re not too tired, because we’re walking to the salon.” Nishinoya grunted his consent as they began walking towards town.

The terms of the bet were simple: if Chidoriyama won against Kitagawa Daiichi, Kumagai would have to get his long locks cut to a short length; if Kitagawa Daiichi won against Chidoriyama, Nishinoya would have to get a tuft of his hair bleached. Nishinoya was not taking the loss well.

“But Kuma, what if I buy you Gari-Gari Kuns for a week?” he offered, trying desperately to avoid his fated punishment. Kumagai just clicked his tongue and upped the pace a little. 

_No way around it, I guess._

Various parts of the town came into view gradually--the newly refurbished grocery store, the cracked walls of the old convenience store ( _Gari-Gari Kun heaven_ ), the local park that smelled of freshly trimmed grass. It was a familiar sight for Nishinoya, but not one that failed to surprise him with something new every time he visited.

“I don’t get it. How come you can find your way to town but not my place? It’s two kilometers further than my house.”

“Your house doesn’t usually have soda flavored Gari-Gari Kun,” Nishinoya retorted simply. Kumagai shook his head in disbelief, smiling all the while.

“So what you’re getting at is that Gari-Gari Kun is more important than I am.”

“Pretty much.”

Kumagai laughed it off, “You’re incorrigible, Noya.” Taking it as a compliment, Noya beamed and gave his friend an aloof thumbs-up. Before long, the duo reached the parlor. Steeling his nerves, Nishinoya entered the building. 

It was a quaint business, but one that was warm and cheery inside. Nishinoya and Kumagai both received a hearty welcome from the staff upon entering. Nishinoya sat in a black chair by the door while Kumagai explained what _Nishinoya wanted_ to do with his hair. But it was clear to the hairdresser that Kumagai was enjoying this far too much, based on the smirk that lingered on the redhead’s face.

When leading Nishinoya to a chair, the man asked for clarification: “Are you sure that you want to do this? Because I’m not so sure what your friend told me is what you want to have done…”

“I lost a bet.”

“Ah, to be young and doing foolish things,” he teased, which was odd, as he didn’t seem that old to Nishinoya. “While you may have lost the bet, no one is forcing you to do this.” This was all said while he calmly began applying the bleach to a small patch in the front of his hair.

“My honor is!” Nishinoya scowled at the mirror. It had only been a few minutes, but his hair was alright starting to lighten. With a light harrumph, he sat back in his chair. 

The hairdresser let out a full-bodied laugh. “I’m sure it is.” He put away his supplies before leaving Nishinoya with a notice: “Now you’ll have to let it sit for a while. I’ll keep track of the time, but don’t go touching it before time is up!” Nishinoya, with his eyes closed, gave him a weak thumbs-up as his assent. 

Nishinoya tapped his fingers along the edge of the chair as the minutes passed, barely able to keep himself from just running out of the building. His friend sat in the chair that he himself was sitting in earlier, reading what looked like a gardening magazine. Every now and then, Kumagai would look up from his reading material, snicker, and look back down again. 

_Just let it end_ , Nishinoya thought to himself. 

The thought was quickly diminished at the sound of a bell chiming and a little wind rushing through the doorway. The employees quickly gave another cheery “Welcome!”

“H-hello…”

Nishinoya gripped the sides of the chair tightly, slowly twisting his head to see who the familiar voice belonged to. Standing in the doorway with his hand on the back of his head, Azumane Asahi raised his eyebrows and smiled shyly at the boy with chemicals in his hair. “N-Nishinoya? What’re you doing here?”

Tired of answering with the embarrassing ‘I lost a bet,’ he decided to go with “I decided to try something new!”

Kumagai frowned at this. “Now, now, Noya-kun, you know the real reason is--”

“Not important!” Nishinoya finished, waving his arms in front of his chest. “Why are you here, Azumane-san?” 

Asahi scratched the back of his head, giving a slight smile. “A-Asahi is fine, you know.” He pulled out his headband, letting his hair that was previously in a bun fall in front of his face. “Isn’t it obvious, though?” he said playfully, strands of hair covering his eyes.

Nishinoya’s eyes widened. “But your hair looks so good, Asahi!” 

_Shit._

Asahi’s cheeks were flushed with red for a moment before smiling at Nishinoya. “Y-you think so?” he stuttered, his hands wrapping his mane back into a bun.

“I mean, yeah! It makes you look super cool!” _Nice save, genius._

“O-oh.” Asahi seemed almost let down by the comment, his hand dropping back down to his side. But he recovered quickly, smiling before continuing. “Maybe I shouldn’t get it cut, then?”

Nishinoya looked down at the ground. “Well, I didn’t mean to change your mind so easily… It’s your hair after all…”

“Ah, but I’m not the one that sees my hair, so I suppose another person’s opinion is more valuable than mine.” The hairdresser had been silently washing the bleach out of Nishinoya’s hair while this was going on and was now rubbing something else into it. “But what about you? Your hair looks amazing like that!”

“Like wha--” Nishinoya stopped when he looked in the mirror; in addition to the dusty blond tuft of hair in the middle of his head, the rest of his hair had been gelled up, giving him another 10 centimeters of height. 

The hairdresser took the liberty of explaining. “I figured you wouldn’t mind, but I went ahead and slicked your hair up like that.” He shrugged. “Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I think it looks pretty damn awesome.”

Nishinoya remained speechless. “I think it suits you, Noya. A fitting hairstyle for a ‘Guardian Deity,’ don’t you think?” intoned Asahi. “Anyway. I guess since you think my hair is fine as it is, I might just go now. I apologize for the intrusion.” He bowed his head and smiled at Nishinoya. “Goodbye, Noya.” said Asahi softly, before hurriedly rushing out, heat rising to his cheeks.

Leading him back to Kumagai, the hairdresser made one final comment: “Listen kid, young love is great and everything, but try not to drive away my customers next time by telling them their hair looks good.”

Nishinoya spat directly and unintentionally onto Kumagai who let out a sharp yelp. “He’s… he’s not,” Nishinoya started.

The hairdresser walked back to clean-up his station, waving back with a nonchalant “Have a nice day!”

Nishinoya turned to his friend. “He’s… he’s not…”

Kumagai slapped him on the shoulder. “Sure he’s not.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so bad at including Asahi in this xD
> 
> Might be more than a few days for the next update, since I'm no longer on break *sigh*
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A nice, big, family dinner with the Azumanes. Hilarity and fluff ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you read, I just wanted to thank all of you for your wonderfully delightful comments! Admittedly, I pasted a few of them at the top of my google docs as inspiration so that when I got tired of writing, I'd look at them and remember you guys! I know, I'm cheesy, but it really did help haha. Enjoy!

If someone asked Nishinoya to describe his mother with just one word, he would probably say that, much like his own awesomeness, her insanity could not be described with one measly word. Or, he’d at least say that apart from the word measly. “Measly” really wasn’t in his vocabulary.

It was on days like these that he was reminded of that insanity.

The door was locked when the newly bleached Nishinoya got back to the house, so he rapped on it and waited in a not-so-patient manner, tapping his foot on the porch. When his mother opened the door and promptly re-closed it, he realized he may have neglected to warn her about his hair.

“Mom, open up!” He continued to slam his knuckles against the sturdy door. “At least let me explain!” Slowly, the door creaked open and his mom’s head appeared in the gap. She eyed him with a piercing gaze, one that would make a grown man cry if he weren't conditioned by it his entire life. Nishinoya looked down guiltily.

There were a few moments where they stood there in those same positions. Then, she spoke up. “Well?”

“I--”

“You will speak to my face, thank you.” Nishinoya’s head rose to meet his mother’s eyes. “That's better. Now, please explain to me why it looks like a bird pooped in your hair.”

“It isn't that light--”

“Yuu.”

He ran a hand down the back of his neck and breathed out. “I lost a bet to Kuma. I'm sorry.” Time stilled as he saw her inhale deeply, the air entering through her nose and coursing through her lungs before exiting with a huff.

And then she laughed. Fully, vibrantly--the kind of laugh that only formed in the most humorous of situations. She proceeded to open the door wide and motion for her son to come in, laughing all the while. Nishinoya was taken by surprise at first, but it wasn’t long before he entered his home and joined in on the laughter with his mother. 

She only paused her merriment to speak to Nishinoya. “You know, that friend of yours really needs to learn how to make a bet. I think a little blonde in the front makes you look even more handsome. And now that your hair’s sticking so far up, you’re finally taller than me!” She playfully leaned over and planted a kiss on his cheek.

Nishinoya groaned and his face turned beet juice red as he rubbed his cheek. “Mom…” She giggled lightheartedly as she skipped her way into the kitchen, not unlike a daughter of hers that skipped to her room last night. Her sudden and extreme mood shift was also somewhat reminiscent of Noriko. _Like mother, like daughter, huh?_

“I’m sorry for seeming so upset, Yuu,” she called from the kitchen. “I was just so shocked! But I guess you’re a big boy now, so you can make your own decisions.”

“Mom!” He yelled it that time.

Hearing only muffled giggles in response, Nishinoya sighed and began walking up to his room. Before he could reach it, however, he heard his mother’s voice one more time: “Oh, don’t forget honey, I’m having a work friend come over tonight. Do you remember Azumane-san?” 

Nishinoya froze. 

“Yuu? Are you in your room already?” His hand was stuck to the doorknob of his bedroom door. _Azumane-san? They can’t be the same people, right? There are plenty of people named Azumane in Miyagi. I’m overreacting._

“Sounds good, mom!”

“Awesome! And before I forget, I didn’t think you’d mind, but since she’s a single mother like me, I told her she could bring her kid with her. He’s an only child, a first year in high school.” _One male child?!_ There’s no way this wasn’t Asahi. In fact, it was definitely Asahi. 

Nishinoya grunted and let his head fall onto his still closed door with a thump. “That won’t be a problem, will it, Yuu?” _The problem isn’t Asahi. There isn’t anything wrong with him or his sculpted body or his beautiful hair or his popsicle--_

_Oh my god. This will be a problem._

“Not at all, mom! Looking forward to it!” _I’m doomed._

He had already told his mother about Asahi. In very little time, she was able to figure out how captivated Nishinoya was by Asahi and his cute little bun-- _hair bun_ he quickly corrected. He figured she would have a ball tonight.

“Nii-sama, why is your head against the door?” At the sound of his little brother’s voice, Nishinoya lifted his head and looked at the little boy, who then let out a soft gasp.

“So cool! Your hair looks so cool, Yuu!” Despite the stress of the impending evening quickly piling up on Nishinoya, having Shuji stare at him with awestruck eyes was still able to cheer him up a little. He smiled at his innocent brother.

“Thanks, Shu. I guess Kuma’s bet backfired on itself, didn’t it? He didn’t think I’d be able to rock this ‘do so well,” Nishinoya stated while striking a pose and focusing on the intricacies of the back of his outstretched hand, causing Shuji to giggle at the sight. Peeking from her room, Noriko decided to giggle with her similarly sized brother.

“What? You think my hair looks funny?” More giggling. “Huh?!” By now her face was starting to turn red. 

Nishinoya smirked and ran into her room, not even bothering to throw her onto her bed before tickling her to death. If her face was red before, it was steaming at this point. He made her let out a high pitched squeal before he finally decided to relent, a look of victory displayed on his face. Noriko experienced a few more aftershock giggles before finally settling. Meanwhile, Shuji had watched from the door, snickering at his sister’s misfortune. Nishinoya decided to give him a high-five on the way out as thanks for the support.

It was amazing how easily distracted Nishinoya was. It was also amazing how quickly his mind went back to the shy brunette. All he wanted to do was run his hands through those locks, make Asahi feel more confident about himself, make him loosen his shoulders every now and then, _tell him that he loves him._

_Oh._

This dinner was not going to go well.

\---

The doorbell rang only once, but the ringing lingered in Nishinoya’s ears for much longer than that single moment. In reality, all it did was notify the household that the guests had arrived, but for Nishinoya, it was the death knell which sealed his fate. Of course, if he were describing the situation, he wouldn’t have used the word “knell;” rather, he may have used a word more akin to “absolutely screwed in every way possible.”

Nishinoya Kumiko welcomed Azumane Tsuna and her son into her home with a smile on her face and the smell of sashimi and udon wafting off her clothes.

“Tsuna! I’m so glad you could come! And who’s this?” She pointed to the nervous boy with the goatee.

“Ah Kumiko, you know I wouldn’t miss your dinner for the world.” She wrapped her arm around the tall boy’s shoulder. “This is my son, Asahi.”

“He’s so handsome! I’m surprised he doesn’t have a young lady hanging off his arm tonight.” Asahi blushed violently and Azumane-san chuckled, knowing full well that her son didn’t swing that way. She waved her hand to change the topic. 

“Where are all of your kids? I’d love to see them!” Nishinoya, who had been eavesdropping from the top of the stairs the entire time, cringed at that comment. But knowing his mother, he figured it would only be seconds before--

“Shuji, Noriko, Yuu, come downstairs and be kind to our company!” Asahi flinched, trying to remember where he had heard the third name before. His eyes widened as Nishinoya and company began their long journey down the stairs. 

“N-N-Noya!” he blurted, warranting a response of ‘Yes?’ from all three siblings as they paused on the steps. But it was the one that replied with his head down that Asahi was interested in. Slowly, Nishinoya lifted his eyes to meet Asahi’s. 

He managed a weak smile. “Hey Asahi-san…”

In a similar fashion to Asahi, Nishinoya’s mother widened her eyes and grinned at her son, putting the pieces together. _That was fast._

In an attempt to lessen the discomfort, his mother spoke: “Why don’t we bring ourselves to the kitchen and get started on that meal?” Everyone nodded their consent and took a seat at the table. 

Shuji, being the perfect child that he was, was quick to pull out chairs for the guests, both of whom expressed their gratitude for his helpfulness. With Asahi and Azumane-san sitting next to each other, Shuji took his seat next to Noriko at the opposite end of the circular table, and Nishinoya slyly plopped himself down next to Asahi. 

“Your hair really did turn out nicely, Noya,” Asahi muttered, his hands sitting awkwardly in his lap. 

“And I’m glad you didn’t get yours cut!” Nishinoya replied cheerily, before bowing his head down in panic from what he said. “I mean--I didn’t want to change your mind or anything--It looks really good--I just wanted--”

“Pass along the food and take however much you want!” Nishinoya’s mother stated it triumphantly, proud of her culinary work. Nishinoya breathed a sigh of relief when his mother handed Noriko a large bowl of udon and a plate of sashimi to take portions from. But Asahi didn’t forget about his comment.

He pushed a strand of hair out of the way of his eye. Blushing a little, he stammered: “T-Thanks, Noya.” Nishinoya turned away suddenly to avoid his kind glance, but the rosy tinge that flowed into his cheeks gave him away. He cursed himself for how easily he was being wooed by this gentle giant. Biting his lips, he took the food from Shuji and served himself a decent helping. 

As he reached out to hand the bowl and plate to Asahi, the taller boy met him halfway, their hands brushing against each other during the trade-off. Nishinoya shuddered at the touch. _His hands are soft_ , he thought to himself, before earnestly praying that he didn’t say that out loud.

Asahi wasn’t left unaffected by the contact, his face steadily rising in temperature as one hand reached back to rub his neck. 

“Mommy, why is Yuu’s face so red?” 

_Noriko._

_I will end you._

Nishinoya-san looked at Azumane-san before both of them burst into violent laughter, with his own mother slapping her hand on the table as a result of the hilarity. She leaned over and whispered something into Azumane-san’s ear, who giggled in response. 

“Mom!” Nishinoya found himself yelling at his mother a lot more often nowadays. 

Asahi looked equally embarrassed, although Nishinoya was starting to realized that this was pretty much Asahi’s natural state. A sheepish smile, a slight coral splash on his cheeks, one hand on the back of his neck, the other one pushing hair out of his face--it was adorable. 

By now, they all had food on their plates. Thanking Nishinoya-san for their meal, they cheerfully dug into their feast. Each of them approached it a different way; Noriko poked at the food with her chopsticks, and Shuji lifted his bowl to his face; Asahi delicately sliced his sashimi, while Nishinoya rapidly slurped up his udon; Azumane-san politely brought the noodles to her mouth, as Nishinoya-san tore into her fish. 

It was chaotic, but Nishinoya was glad to see everyone so happy, even if he had been embarrassed multiple times already.

\---

As the excitement from dinner wound down and Shuji and Noriko went to bed, the four remaining occupants of the kitchen migrated to the living room. On one couch, Tsuna and Kumiko chatted about their latest amorous endeavors. On the other, the two boys sat secluded, as if they were afraid they’d catch cold if they sat too close to one another. 

Desperate to break the silence, Nishinoya decided he was going to bring up the topic of volleyball. But his mother was faster. And more intoxicated, unfortunately.

“Yuuuuu, I thought you said you were into this guy.” Asahi spluttered and sat up abruptly from his spot on the couch. Nishinoya just turned his face towards the sofa and moaned into a pillow. 

Asahi’s mother scolded her: “Kumiko, you have no subtlety! At least I didn’t mention that Asahi has been talking about Yuu! Wait…” She hiccupped before she realized her mistake. Then she laughed. 

Now it was Asahi’s turn to groan. Nishinoya turned to the adults with pleading eyes. “Could you two gossips _please_ take your conversation elsewhere? The kitchen, maybe?”

His mother clicked her tongue as she stood up. “Touchy, touchy… No nasty business while we aren’t watching!”

_Oh my god._

“Mom.” His voice didn’t waver. 

She waved her hand. “Yeah, yeah, we’re going.”

Finally left alone, they both let out an audible sigh. “Asahi, I’m really sorry about my mom…”

Asahi smiled beautifully at him. _God why was he so perfect._ “It’s no problem at all. Your mother is a lovely woman.” Nishinoya snorted in response. _Wow, that must’ve sounded really hot._ He shook away the thought. 

Trying to figure out what to do with the remaining time, Nishinoya gave Asahi the offer of playing video games. He was reluctant to agree, admitting he had never been much good at them. But Nishinoya persisted and handed Asahi a white wii remote.

“Um… What do I do with this?” Asahi softly inquired. 

Nishinoya stood with his mouth gaping. “You’ve never played a wii game before?” Asahi shook his head in response. “Never?!” Nishinoya repeated, as if the answer might change. Asahi shook his head once again. Baffled, he quickly got out Mario Kart and started up the white machine.

“Just you wait--once we get started, you won’t want to stop.”

When the character selection screen came up, Nishinoya quickly selected Dry Bones, while Asahi took his time in selecting the peaceful dino Yoshi. The actual process of playing was more taxing than Nishinoya would’ve thought. Asahi seemed to panic the moment an indicator popped up telling him that he would soon be hit by a shell. He also seemed to tilt his remote an extreme amount when trying to turn, letting out a yelp when he barrelled into the walls.

Sometime into the third race, Nishinoya, who was sitting on the floor, leaned his head back to rest it on the couch. It fell onto it with a soft bounce, Nishinoya readjusting his head so he could see the screen and stay relaxed.

It took him a few moments to realize that sofas don’t have leg hair.

He nearly removed it from Asahi’s firm calf before realizing that, through all of this, Asahi hadn’t even tried to move his leg.

_Is he… all right with this?_

Nishinoya certainly was. In fact, he was perhaps a bit too comfortable. By the time they finished the grand prix, he was out cold and drooling onto Asahi’s leg. Asahi breathed out slowly and smiled. This little fireball had found his way into his heart of glass, and somehow managed to light the crystalline material aflame. 

It was over an hour before the two parents returned to the living room, Azumane-san gathering up her things to leave. Nishinoya now had his arms wrapped around Asahi’s leg, who was curled up on the couch and lightly snoring. Tsuna and Kumiko smirked at each other before lightly shaking their kids awake.

“Hunh…?” Nishinoya jolted awake as soon as he realized he was nuzzling up against Asahi’s wonderful body. 

_Oh no._

“Asahi dear, it’s time to go.” The bearded kid sighed against the couch, asking for five more minutes. “Asahi, we have to let the Nishinoyas go to bed.” He got up silently, rubbing his slightly open eyes and putting on his shoes. They reached the door and opened it, starting to walk out before Nishinoya called out to him.

“Wait, Asahi!” The high schooler turned his head to the boy with hair sticking out everywhere. He thought it was sweet. “Do you… want to hang out next Saturday, maybe?” Blushing, Asahi slowly nodded and smiled, waving goodbye to Nishinoya.

Nishinoya’s mother closed the door lightly before turning to her son and smirking.

“You drooled on him while you slept.”

His heart stopped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a lot of fun with this chapter, although I feel like I may have used the word "laugh" too many times
> 
> *hits ctrl+f and searches for "laugh"
> 
> Oh my god, I used laugh and its different forms FOUR TIMES in a single paragraph. Whoops. Hope you enjoyed!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nishinoya may or may not throw up on people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I apologize. I didn't mean to take this long to update... And I feel like this chapter isn't that great anyway. Mrgrgr, I'm so sorry *bows head*
> 
> Try to enjoy? Please? For me?

Nishinoya should _not_ have invited Asahi over.

After the disaster that was exacerbated by his mother’s alcohol intake, he didn’t know if he could ever look up at the tall boy’s face again. Just the thought of him made his stomach twist and turn in upon itself and caused his heart to beat far more rapidly than it should. But their upcoming date-- _not a date,_ Nishinoya quickly reassured himself--was no longer the immediate concern.

Azumane-san had recently contacted his mother, letting her know about an upcoming practice match that Asahi and crew had against Tokonami High. Their team had struggled throughout the year, so she didn’t have much hope for the outcome of the match, but she still thought Asahi would appreciate it if Nishinoya would come out and support his future teammates.

Nishinoya just hoped that Suga and Daichi wouldn’t find out that Asahi had come over to his house for dinner. And had his calf serve as a pillow for Nishinoya’s head.

Yeah, that was gonna stay hidden for a long time.

It was Wednesday now, four days after what Noriko had gleefully taken to calling “the night where Nii-san got the red face flu.” Today was the day of Asahi’s volleyball game. But, unfortunately, Nishinoya didn’t think he’d be able to attend.

He actually had the flu.

After retching into a bucket, Nishinoya moaned loudly. “Yuu!” His mother yelled to him from some distant corner of the house. “Sick or not, you’re going to that game! I told Azumane-san that you would be there!”

“But mom--”

“If I wanted to hear your ‘but,’ I would stand outside the bathroom door when you got back from volleyball practice. _But,_ I don’t. So drop it.” Rarely did his mother raise his voice at him in such a serious way. Cases where her reputation was at stake tended to be at fault. This was such a case.

Sighing, Nishinoya rolled out of the body-shaped indent in his bed, slamming into the floor with his knees. He decided he had to look at least semi-presentable. He trudged into the shower without even waiting for the water to heat up, letting the cool droplets stream down his spine. It was almost therapeutic, the way it traced the contours of his back. 

_I wonder how Asahi’s soft fingers would feel_ \--

_Oh my god._

He quickly shut off the water valve, putting his hands against the wall as he processed what he had just imagined. He quickly shook the water and thoughts from his head and dried himself with the towel.

Staring at his reflection in the mirror, Nishinoya frowned at the way his hair fell down onto his head, making him once again shorter than his mother. He hated to do this, but…

“Nori? Could you come to my room for a sec? And could you bring… You know, the stuff?” He didn’t know that the “stuff” he was referring to was just hairspray, but if he did, he might’ve been more reluctant to use it. Slowly, his sister walked into the room, can in hand, ready to help him become tall once again.

She looked as though she had just woken up--her hair was sticking up in places, her eyes were still mostly closed, and she yawned about every five seconds. Absentmindedly, she removed the cap from the can and went to work on Nishinoya’s hair. 

“You know,” she started, spraying a liberal amount of chemicals into his hair, “this product was made for like, 80 year-old grandmas.” 

“Yeah, but it makes me look taller,” he retorted in a gruff tone, with the slightest amount of red appearing on his cheeks. She simply smirked at his face in the mirror and kept working. 

“So what’s the occasion?” she pondered as she herded Nishinoya’s hair into orderly pastures. 

He thought carefully about how he wanted to word the events of the day without mentioning Asahi. “I’m going to see Karasuno’s match with Tokonami.”

Noriko caught on right away. “Oh, so you’re going to see the boy with the bun?” 

He stood up sharply, his pulse steadily increasing. “I’m going to support the team! Asahi isn’t the only person on the team…”

She laughed at her brother’s embarrassment. “Jeez, I didn’t mean to ruffle your feathers quite so much. I get it. The boy you’re crushing on just _happens_ to be on the team you’ll be joining next year. The fact that you picked Karasuno was entirely coincidental.” Nishinoya nodded his head in agreement.

“Aha! So you admit that you’re in love with Beard-san!”

Nishinoya spluttered before turning a violent shade of red. Noriko giggled as she finished making her brother tall once again. Muttering his thanks, he opened the door, through which she cheerily skipped out.

Letting out a soft sigh, he looked into the mirror once more. 

_Why would Asahi ever be interested in me?_

\---

Even from the outside, one could tell that the gym was bustling with activity as Karasuno High School slowly came into Nishinoya’s view. He had a tight grip on a slip of paper his mother gave to him with directions to the school. It wasn’t a far walk from his house, but that wouldn’t stop him from getting hopelessly lost in the process.

Admission was free since it was only a practice game, yet very few people had shown up to watch. Nishinoya had barely passed through the doors before being ardently greeted by a familiar boy with ash blond hair. 

“Noya-kun! I like the new hair! You came to cheer for us?” Suga yelled, displaying a bright smile immediately following the question.

Nishinoya gave a cheeky grin in return. “You bet! I’m expecting only the best from you guys now that I’ll be in the crowd!” He let his eyes glance around the open space. On one side was the Karasuno team; he spotted Daichi bending at the knees while receiving a ball that was powerfully sent to him by a muscular boy with black hair, who he assumed was the ace. Another boy that was about his height sported an orange jersey, signifying his role as the libero. Nishinoya would have to pay close attention to him.

The other team looked relatively small in comparison, as if the entire team was composed of first-years. The captain looked like an entirely average player, with average height and build and short, dark hair. Their libero was another short boy, with lighter brown hair that winged out at its ends. It bothered Nishinoya a little that both teams’ liberos had such small stature, but he didn’t think about that for long.

Rather, he kept thinking about the absence of the gentle giant that came over to his house the other day.

Taking his seat on Karasuno’s side on the court, Nishinoya clutched his chest and groaned. _I still don’t feel good… I can’t believe Okaasan made me go to this…_

His stomach felt a little better, though, when he saw Asahi come out to the court. He towered above the rest of team, even the second and third-years. When Asahi finally noticed him, his eyes widened before he smiled and waved. Nishinoya gleefully waved back and wished him good luck.

To the side, Suga said something to Daichi and snickered, making Nishinoya suspect that they may have been talking about him. But he didn’t consider that for long, as the court was suddenly emptied, save for six people on each side.

The actual game was less than eventful. Karasuno won the first two sets handily, before both teams decided that they would enjoy playing a third set. Nishinoya was impressed with the agility of the crows’ current libero, although he was disappointed that he was a third-year and wouldn’t be able to help teach him.

Afterwards, Nishinoya got up and approached the three first-years he was already familiar with.

Suga, being the social butterfly Nishinoya quickly found out he was, spoke first. “Noya! What’d you think of the crows? Good enough to be your future teammates?”

“Of course! You guys were amazing!”

Daichi smiled at the comment. “And what about our libero?”

Nishinoya gave two hearty thumbs up, his way of showing his utmost respect for the boy. Laughing, Suga called over the short libero. Up close, Nishinoya noticed that the boy had freckles that spanned the spaces under his eyes, and he had short, curly, red hair that bounced on his head as he walked over.

“So you’re the boy from Chidoriyama that got everyone so excited, eh?” the kid who was shorter than Nishi-- _wait, he’s shorter than me?!_

“You… You… You’re shorter than me?!” he blurted, perhaps a bit crudely. He clutched at his chest once again after he made the comment, worried that if he spoke too loudly, he may lose his afternoon snack.

A fire quickly grew in the short libero’s eyes. “Excuse me?!” Suga, Daichi, and Asahi all laughed in unison. _There it is again… His perfect, sonorous laugh…_

“Now, now, no need to be so rude to Otsuka-san.” Suga teased. 

“You’re practically the same height as me! That means we have to stick together so people like Asahi here--” he paused his rant to jab Asahi in the side, who yelped, “don’t terrorize the short people!” He extended a hand. “Otsuka Seiichi. But since you’re under 160 cm, you can call me Sei!”

Nishinoya nearly shook his hand, but he hastily retracted it at the last minute.

Sei was fuming at this point. “First you insult my height, and then you don’t accept my handshake?!” 

“I’m really sorry Sei-sama!” He shook his head. “I’ve got some stomach bug, and I don’t want you to catch it.” Sei’s mouth opened in realization. 

“No… I should be the one apologizing. Sorry for yelling at you.” He bowed his head slightly.

Suga just laughed at the irony of the situation. “Wow, an apology from Otsuka? You sure know how to whip ‘em Noya! First Asahi, now Sei?” He put his hand to his forehead in mock disbelief. 

Nishinoya felt his face turn red, Daichi and Suga laughing at his apparent mortification. Little did he know that Asahi, who had turned away to “cough,” was blushing excessively.

His embarrassment quickly turned to discomfort as he began to feel dizzy. Suga made another jeering comment, but it went unheard by Nishinoya, who had trouble focusing on his surroundings.

Asahi looked at him with a concerned frown. “Noya… Are you all right?”

Daichi, being the bird dad he was, took Nishinoya by the shoulders. “Hey, let’s go get you some water, okay?” Nishinoya shook his head, not because he didn’t want water, but because he didn’t think it was good for anyone to be close when he was about to--

_Oh no._

His stomach lurched before heaved onto the ground in front of him. Daichi’s shoes were not left unaffected.

“D-D-Daichi-san--”

He held up his hand to stop Nishinoya’s talking before he slowly walked away, presumably towards the bathroom. Suga burst into a fit of unbridled cackles, and Sei soon joined in with glee, the entirety of his 157 cm frame shaking with mirth.

On the other hand, a panicked Asahi quickly grabbed a towel off the bench. He held the rag near Nishinoya’s face as he looked at him, seeking his consent. Slowly, Nishinoya nodded and Asahi delicately wiped his face before bending down to clean the floor.

He may have just thrown up, but Nishinoya couldn’t keep his eyes from drifting downward. 

_Right at Asahi’s ass._

Suga caught his gaze and chuckled. When Asahi was finished, he asked Sei to throw away the rag, who begrudgingly agreed to do so. But before Asahi could stand up, Suga gave Nishinoya a slight nudge in the back.

Nudge is probably putting it lightly. The silver-haired boy shoved Nishinoya into Asahi, who collapsed under the unexpected weight. Asahi hit the ground with a huff, his chin and stomach flat on the floor, and Nishinoya sprawled out on top of him.

Neither of them moved for a few moments. Nishinoya figured the amount of heat that was radiating from his cheeks was probably noticeable on Asahi’s firm back. 

“Noya-kun, you may have just lost all the food that was in your stomach, but jeez, you can’t be this hungry, right?”

They both lifted their crimson-dusted faces and stammered in unison: “S-Suga!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm such a whore. Why do I have so many OC's. Anywho. 
> 
> Daw, self-conscious Nishinoya, wondering why Asahi would ever care about him... The fact that the both of them are so oblivious is so wonderfully fluffy. Although, I'm not really sure why I gave Nishinoya the flu? Like, we probably could've gone without him throwing up onto Daichi. Yeah. I apologized earlier, but I'll do it again. I am SO sorry xD
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! Leave a comment if you've got the time! They give me LIFE.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The stars weaved their pearlescent thread across the sky’s nebulous patchwork. Up above, the moon seemed to be shedding its scales, releasing luminous motes of dust which illumined the terrain below his feet. Asahi hummed as he walked the short distance back to his house, smiling at the vault of heaven.
> 
> "He hugged me. That’s gotta mean something, right?"

Despite having thoroughly embarrassed himself three days earlier, Nishinoya was still having Asahi come over to his house in an hour. And somehow ( _certainly_ his mother didn’t plan this), he’d been given the arduous task of watching his siblings that night.

“Yuu, I’m _hungry_.” Noriko tugged at the hem of Nishinoya’s shirt. It wasn’t uncommon for her to be begging him to get her something to eat, but he had many other things on his mind at the moment.

For example: how to tell Asahi he had an enormous crush on him.

“Nori, you know where the kitchen is. Why do you need _me_ to get _your_ food?”

She pouted at him before taking in a deep breath. Without further warning, she released a shrill, unwavering wail, one that, in any comedic performance, would break glass. 

Moaning, Nishinoya clamped his hands over his ears, attempting to dull the pain but to no avail. He reached out and took Noriko’s hand before traipsing toward the kitchen. He had been scolded by his mother more than once for letting her get her way through this sort of action, but between focusing on Asahi’s wonderful anatomy and trying to mentally prepare himself for the evening, he didn’t have the mind to care.

By now, Noriko was practically yanking him along, dragging him to the pantry. “Onii-san, I want agemochi!”

“We don’t have any agemochi, Nori…”

“Oniiiisannnn--”

“Nori!” Noriko took a step back, shock etched onto her face. Her brother rarely raised his voice at her, but when it happened, the implications were often drastic. She barely made it out of the kitchen before Nishinoya heard her crying.

He sighed, knowing that was just one more thing he’d need to deal with before Asahi got over.

“So Beard-nii-san is coming over?” Nishinoya looked to his side and saw Shuji standing diligently at attention. 

He chuckled before ruffling his hair a bit. “That he is, Shu.” He leaned down to whisper in his ear: “And I’m gonna need your help to make sure Nee-chan doesn’t annoy him too much!”

Shuji giggled at that before raising his arm to his head in a saluting fashion.

_This isn’t gonna be easy_ , Nishinoya thought to himself. _But with Shuji’s help, maybe I can get through it_.

\---

Asahi stared at his reflection in the mirror and sighed. A small strand of hair peeked out in front of his left ear. He slowly put it back behind his ear, only for a different strand to pop out on the other side of his head. Sighing again, he gave up and went downstairs to see his mother lounging on the couch with coffee and the paper in her hands. He had intended to make her some tea, but after boiling water in the kettle for the fourth time, they both knew it wouldn’t be made.

“Sorry about the tea, mom…” he muttered while stealing a glance at the clock, which indicated that only a minute had passed during his eternal wait for the evening. She waved it off with her mug hand, spilling a bit of coffee onto her newspaper in the process. She paused before shrugging and continuing to read.

Not wanting to forget anything, Asahi ran threw his mental checklist once more.

_Shoes, check. Hair tie, check. Phone, check. Wallet, check._

_Open up to Noya and tell him how charming he is…_

Asahi violently shook his head to perish the thought and picked up the mug of coffee that his mother made for him. 

From the couch, his mother called out: “Asahi, just a reminder, but I won’t be here when you get back. I’m going to visit your grandparents in Aichi, so I won’t be back until Sunday night.” Sipping from his cup, he grunted his assent.

Azumane-san sat up from her spot on the couch at the sound. “I didn’t know you were capable of making such a manly noise, Asahi! Practicing for tonight?” she snidely inquired.

He spluttered at the comment, the coffee which he had just drank exiting his mouth as quickly as it had entered it. As his face heated up, he reached a hand back and tugged at his bun. It wasn’t uncommon for his mom to tease him like this. After all, it wasn’t hard when he had the spine of a dormouse. 

She clicked her tongue. “Ah, I was only joking. You never really tell me about things like your _love life_.”

_My love life?!_

“M-Mom!” 

She laughed heartily, the liquid in her cup swaying dangerously close to the brim as her body shook. Azumane-san leaned back into the sofa, crossing her arms before happily mumbling to herself. “Too easy…”

While Asahi was occupied with the thought that his face might still be red by the time he got to Nishinoya’s house, a phone started buzzing upstairs. _My alarm? Already?!_ A swift look at the clock confirmed the worst of his fears: it was time to go to Nishinoya’s house.

\---

Nishinoya knocked on Noriko’s locked door one more time. _Why does mom think she needs a lock anyway_ , he thought bitterly. “Nori, please open up!” 

“Go away!”

He put his hands to his forehead and massaged his temples before hearing a knock from a different area of the house: the front door.

_Asahi._

“Coming!” He sprinted towards the stairs, eager to see the goateed boy. In his haste, one of his feet got trapped behind the ankle of the opposite foot. Mathematically, this meant that neither of his feet would move with the rest of his body, causing the momentum of his upper body to continue forward, while the rest stayed behind. 

Physically, it meant he was about to tumble down the stairs.

With a yelp, he began his downward trek to the first floor, rotating onto each step before slamming into the ground with a thud.

A muffled, yet concerned voice belonging to Asahi sounded from the other side of the front door. “Noya?!”

“I’m all right!”

Shuji stood by the door and stared at his brother’s prostrate body. “Amazing… Nii-sama, was that rolling thunder?!” Nishinoya let out both a groan and a chuckle before rolling his eyes and pushing himself off the ground. He hesitatingly placed his hand the doorknob, before he finally decided to open the door.

The sight that greeted him was entirely overwhelming for Nishinoya. The boy in front of him wore tan khaki pants and a pale, cream sweater, with the collar of a white dress shirt peeking out. Asahi’s hair was tied back in his signature loose bun, with one stray length of hair cutely hugging the front of his left ear. 

“Asahi-san, you look great!” _Regret, so much regret. What have I done. Why did I say that._

Luckily, Asahi didn’t seem to think much of the comment as he was still concerned about Nishinoya’s tumble. “Are you all right?” he asked worriedly, with what could most nearly be called a frown on his face. “That was a really loud noise, and the door wasn’t even open when I heard it…”

“Oh, that? That’s nothing compared to the receives I have to make for volleyball!” He grinned before motioning to the faded bruises on his forearms and the worn skin on his knees. “But anyways,” started Nishinoya, taking the boy by the arm, “come in, Asahi-san!”

Asahi smiled sheepishly before softly reminding Nishinoya, “Asahi is just fine.”

“Beard-nii-san!” The noise came from 1.3 meters off the ground, the position of Shuji’s mouth relative to the floor. Asahi initially seemed taken aback by the nickname, before a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“Shuji-kun, how are you?” he asked warmly.

“Awesome, better than my sister since Yuu--”

“Ah, yeah, she won’t leave her room.” Nishinoya finished quickly, putting a hand over Shuji’s mouth. “My mom’s out of town, so I’m stuck watching this one,” he started, flicking Shuji’s shoulder, “and that one.” he finished, pointing upstairs.

“Yours too, huh? I’m sorry about Noriko.” he commented, shutting the door behind him. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Nishinoya shook his head. “Not unless you know how to coax an eleven-year-old out of her nest.”

Asahi shrugged, before replying with, “I can try.” Nishinoya raised his eyebrows in surprise, wondering why Asahi was so willing to help out. _Maybe he’s trying to make it so people are less scared of him…?_ He tried to imagine any encounters Asahi might have with a little girl on the street. Most of what he came up with ended with a concerned parent calling the cops on him.

They trudged up the steps which had just betrayed Nishinoya moments ago, Shuji leading the charge towards the lair of Noriko. When they reached the door, Asahi reached out his arm to knock on the door.

Before he could do so, Nishinoya grabbed his arm-- _his arms are so nice_ \--and interrupted. “A-Are you sure you want to do this?” It came out as a stutter, likely due to the fact that he was so distracted by Asahi’s biceps. _You don’t have to reply right away. I’m fine like this._

Asahi smiled at him and nodded, causing Nishinoya to let go. His heart melted--partially because Asahi’s smile was gorgeous, and partially because letting his arm go was just so saddening. Asahi proceeded to lightly knock on the door.

“Go away, Yuu!” 

“Noriko-chan? It’s Asahi.”

Slowly, the door creaked open and a small head peered out. “Asahi can come in. You two--” she pointed an angry finger at Nishinoya and Shuji, “cannot!” Before Asahi could protest, she yanked the tall boy into her room and slammed the door shut, leaving behind a baffled Nishinoya and Shuji.

\---

Asahi was now trapped in a room which could only be summed up as sensory overload--posters on walls, oddly mixed scents of perfume on every surface, and pop music blasting from a radio.

She beckoned him over to the bed that she was daintily sitting on. Cautiously, he lowered himself onto the bed, causing the mattress to sink in where he sat and Noriko to lean on his side. She let out a small giggle.

_This doesn’t sound anything like the girl that was just furious at her brother_ \--

“Beard-san, can I do your hair?” Noriko looked up innocently at Asahi’s shocked face, eager to hear his reply.

“Uh--”

“Great!” she interrupted, not caring for the rest of his response. She enthusiastically took out his hair tie and let his locks fall in front of his face and near his shoulders. Sighing, he obediently lowered his head to get her closer to her workplace. 

For a while, she worked silently, trying out a variety of hairstyles, each one rejected with a “hm” or a “maybe not,” before she would start over once again. Finally, Asahi decided to speak up.

“Noriko-chan--”

“Beard-san, you can call me Nori.” she said playfully.

Asahi smiled in his slouched position. “Nori,” he corrected, “why are you so mad at your brother?” While he couldn’t see her face, he knew she frowned at the inquiry.

“Because he yelled at me…” She seemed genuinely upset by the situation. For a moment, her hands stopped messing with his hair. Asahi used that time to turn and face her.

“Nori, your brother loves you so much. You know that, right?” She hesitated before giving Asahi a full-bodied nod. “I’m certain he wants to apologize to you. But he can’t do that unless you let him.”

Her hands started moving again. “Fine. But only once we finish your hair, all right?”

Asahi laughed and turned back around for her. “All right.”

\---

Despite all her efforts, Noriko ultimately decided that the bun was the superior hairstyle for Asahi. However, she wasn’t going to let him leave her room without him being beautified in someway. So when the door opened, and Asahi walked out with a sparkly crown on his head, Nishinoya just stared, slack-jawed.

“Asa--”

“--hime!” Noriko finished with delight. “This is Asa _hime_!” Asahi blushed at the nickname, rubbing the back of his neck. Nishinoya turned to Shuji before they burst into simultaneous laughter. 

“Asahime… ha! That’s brilliant, Nori!” He patted her on the back encouragingly. “Shu, why don’t you escort Asa _hime_ downstairs?” 

Shuji, eager to join in on the fun, gleefully accepted. “Right this way, Asahime-dono.” Asahi reddened even more and shyly smiled, following Shuji down the stairs.

When both of them were out of earshot, Nishinoya began: “Nori…”

“I’m sorry!” she blurted. 

“Wait, _you’re_ sorry?” Nishinoya retorted, confused by her apology. “I’m the one that should be saying that!”

She shook her head. “We’re both sorry, all right? It doesn’t matter. There’s a more pressing matter at the moment.” Nishinoya tilted his head, puzzled. She coughed. “Your uh, date?” He spluttered at the comment, causing her to giggle. 

“T-That’s enough out of you, Nori! Let’s go down and eat some ice cream.” He took her hand and they both walked down to meet up with Shuji and Asahi-- _Asahime_ , Nishinoya corrected.

Between falling down the stairs, waiting for Asahi and his sister, and eating ice cream, Nishinoya totally lost track of time, so when he looked at the clock and saw that it was nearly midnight he panicked. 

_Mom will kill me if she finds out I let them stay up this late._

But then there was Asahi, his knight/princess in shining armor, there to help tuck in Shuji and Noriko. When he pulled the sheets over Noriko, he took care to place the crown on her head, thanking her for making him look so pretty. Nishinoya was ashamed to admit that he found the entire situation adorable.

Asahi figured it was about time for him to go as well, considering it was so late. Nishinoya was reluctant to see him go: “You know, despite the mayhem that went on with my siblings, I had a really nice night tonight. You’re welcome to come back again soon.” _Because I definitely have a huge crush on you._

“I did too,” he mused in reply, twirling a strand of his hair with his finger, “and I’d love to come back again.” 

Nishinoya wasn’t sure what he was doing, but before he could stop himself, he went up to Asahi and hugged him.

_OH MY GOD WHAT AM I DOING._

He was about to pull away before Asahi hugged him back, letting out a soft sigh.

Nishinoya stood speechless as Asahi waved and walked away into the darkness of night.

_Well shit._

\---

The stars weaved their pearlescent thread across the sky’s nebulous patchwork. Up above, the moon seemed to be shedding its scales, releasing luminous motes of dust which illumined the terrain below his feet. Asahi hummed as he walked the short distance back to his house, smiling at the vault of heaven.

_He hugged me. That’s gotta mean something, right?_

As he approached his house, he reached into his pocket to get his keys. 

Which weren’t in his pocket. With his breathing accelerating, Asahi slowly realizes that he may have left his keys in the house. Which was locked. Which was where he slept at night.

_Oh._

Unsure of what to do, he paced around his yard, before realizing that he definitely looked like a delinquent and someone would definitely call the cops on him if they saw him outside his house at night.

With no other choice, he began to walk back towards Nishinoya’s house. By the time he reached his house and softly knocked on the door, he immediately regretted the decision. A groggy Nishinoya opened the door, surprised at his nocturnal visitor. “Asahi? Didn’t you just leave?”

Asahi sheepishly tugged at the collar of his shirt. “Yeah, but I forgot my keys, and I’m locked out of my house… Is it all right if I--”

“Of course.” He said it as though it were obvious, but even Asahi was astonished at how welcoming this boy was. “But my mom locked her room before she left so we can’t use that bed. Which means you,” he stated sleepily, putting a finger on Asahi’s chest, “are sharing a bed with me.”

Asahi reddened at the idea of sharing a bed with Nishinoya. “R-Really, the sofa is just fine...”

But Nishinoya wouldn’t have it, clicking his tongue at Asahi. “Tsk, we both know you wouldn’t fit on that couch. Come on, let’s go to my room.” He pulled Asahi inside before trying and failing to grab the doorknob three times. Asahi, who was sure Nishinoya was out of it at this point, shut the door for him.

“Thanks ‘sahi,” muttered Nishinoya, his speech starting to slur. He slowly led the way up to his room, rolling into the far side of his bed before patting the spot next to him. Asahi reluctantly climbed in next to him, nervous that Nishinoya would notice how warm he was. 

“G’night, Asa _hime_ …” Nishinoya snickered, before curling up into his sheets.

“Good night, Noya,” Asahi whispered back.

Nishinoya quickly fell asleep, his light snoring permeating throughout the room. But Asahi didn’t seem to mind.

In fact, his snoring was even louder when he fell asleep with his head pushed up against Nishinoya’s shoulder, a small smile still left on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so self-indulgent, it's sickening. Sorry for the wait again. Posting is gonna be erratic in the next few weeks due to AP testing, final projects, all that jazz.
> 
> As a side note, changed the rating to teen and up because of slight swearing? Like, barely at all. It's probably fine tbh.
> 
> Comment, give kudos, or don't; in any case, I hope you enjoyed!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noya: ;)
> 
> A winky face?! What does that mean?!

When Nishinoya woke up, sunlight had just barely begun to stream through the cracks in the blinds. Peaceful chirps resonated throughout the room, their dulcet tones percolating through the glass window and into the house. But when Nishinoya woke up with Asahi’s arm draped over his prone body, nothing could contain his shocked, chaotic energy.

His heartbeat accelerated as he wondered why this beautiful boy was in bed with him. _Okay, we put Shu and Nori to bed and then he left… Wait, I didn’t sleep with him, did I?!_ But his thoughts didn’t linger on that idea for long, as there was the quite literally _pressing_ matter of the morning wood in his boxers.

That was the other thing. He was in bed with Asahi with only his boxers and a white t-shirt. Definitely not concerning. At all. 

_Oh god._

Meanwhile, the gentle giant snored lightly, his breaths teasing the strands of hair hanging in front of his face. He was sprawled out on the bed, swathed in crumpled sheets, one arm close to his chest and the other still on top of Nishinoya.

_That’s adorable_ , Nishinoya thought to himself. 

As much as he wanted to watch the boy sleep for the rest of the day, he knew he had to find out what had actually happened the night before. He gently poked him in the arm while softly saying his name. “Asahi…”

No response.

He poked him again.

The bear didn’t move an inch.

Growing impatient, he reluctantly removed Asahi’s toned arm from his body, nimbly stepping over the hibernating obstacle to reach the window. In one swift movement, he pulled down the string controlling the blinds and yelled out a hearty “GOOD MORNING!”

Asahi let out a high pitched yelp, quickly covering his face with his eyes. Nishinoya may have been laughing at the plight of the freshly woken boy, but inwardly, all he could think was: _He just yelped and it was adorable._ Sitting up in his berth, Asahi drowsily rubbed his eyes before smiling at the kid by the window.

And that was about all Nishinoya’s heart could take before knotting itself into an Asahi-like bun.

“Good morning, Noya,” he said lazily, still smiling.

Nishinoya just stood and stared at the glorious image before him, barely able to manage another question. “Did you sleep well?”

The query caused Asahi to scratch the back of his head and look to the side. “Well, I _was_ sleeping well, until you woke me up.” He gave Nishinoya a coy smile.

“That was the sun!” Nishinoya retorted, offering Asahi a playful smirk in return. Asahi chuckled at the comment before looking at Nishinoya’s face and blushing. 

“So Asahi, I’ve got a question for you.” Nishinoya started, looking at the floor and kicking a foot against it. Asahi leaned forward attentively. Clearing his throat, Nishinoya continued, “So I must’ve been really tired last night because the last thing I remember was you leaving last night…”

The goateed boy sat attentively, waiting for the question that Nishinoya claimed he had. “Well, I woke up in bed with you and didn’t have much on in terms of clothes… so did we…?” It took a moment for it to register with Asahi before his eyes widened.

“Oh my god, no, of course not! W-We, we didn’t--”

Nishinoya cut him off with a full-bodied laugh, shaking his head at the boy’s stammering. “Okay, I was just making sure.” Asahi turned an even brighter shade of red than before, while in the meantime, Nishinoya decided that Asahi being flustered was probably the most wonderful thing he’d ever been exposed to. 

“So if that’s not the case, then why were you in my bed this morning?” Nishinoya inquired, more serious at this point.

“Ah, I forgot my keys at home and couldn’t get into my house.” He reached a hand to the back of his neck. “I tried to insist I could take the couch downstairs, but…” Asahi smiled at Nishinoya. “You wouldn’t let me.”

Nishinoya stood, shock etched onto his face. “ _I_ wouldn’t let you?!” 

Asahi snorted at his astonishment before quickly covering his nose with his hands, earning yet another bout of laughter from Nishinoya.

“Anyways, sorry for disturbing your slumber, Asahime-dono.” 

“Ugh, please don’t let Suga hear that name.” 

“That gives me so many ideas, Asahi!”

Asahi just groaned in response.

“Asa _hinode_ , Asa _hana_ …” Nishinoya let out a soft gasp before loudly proclaiming, “Asa _hentai?!_ ”

“N-Noya!”

“No, you’re right, nothing could replace Asahime…” 

The shy boy buried his face into a pillow, his heated embarrassment radiating from the back of his neck. 

_Why me._

Desperate to make himself seem less awkward, Nishinoya slapped Asahi on the back, who jolted upward at the contact. “Let’s go get something to eat. I’m starved.” Asahi nodded his submissive assent.

Nishinoya wasn’t surprised to find both of his siblings already awake by the time they got downstairs. Neither of them seemed put off by the fact that Asahi stayed the night _in bed_ with him.

“You slept over, Beard-san?! That’s so cool!” Shuji yelled while strenuously reaching to the highest shelf for a cup. Asahi politely grabbed it and handed it to the smiling kid. “Thanks Nii-san!”

Asahi looked awestruck at the sound of the name. “Nii-san?” It no longer was prefaced with a ‘Beard’, Shuji now just referring to the boy as ‘brother.’

“Hey, it means you’re moving up in the world!” He knew Nishinoya was teasing, but Asahi was secretly very pleased with the newfound admiration he received from Shuji. Of course, it wasn’t so secret when he started blushing every time Shuji called him that.

Noriko, on the other hand, simply took one look at Asahi and shook her head.

Leaning down to whisper in his ear, Asahi asked Nishinoya, “Have I done something to offend her?” 

The genuine concern in Asahi’s brown doe eyes was enough to leave Nishinoya on cloud nine for the rest of his life, but he muscled through, offering him a chuckling response. “Of course not! She’s probably just upset with your hair.”

Asahi cautiously lifted a hand to his mane, before rapidly raising the other to his mouth when he realized it wasn’t in a bun. Shyly, he reached his hand into his pocket to find a hair tie, but he had no luck.

The cheeky girl clicked her tongue at the tall boy. “You can borrow one of mine, but only if you promise to never let this happen again, Asahime.”

His face flushed a violent tinge of crimson, his hand letting go of his disheveled hair. “T-Thanks, Nori. It won’t happen again.”

_Poor Asahi. We haven’t even finished breakfast and he’s already being tormented._

Asahi’s hands gracefully weaved the strands of his hair back into their natural state, and an audible sigh of relief could be heard from Noriko. Personally, Nishinoya liked his hair either way, but that wasn’t something that would be shared anytime soon.

Breakfast topics varied, ranging from discussions over Gari-Gari Kun to the performance of the olympic Brazilian volleyball team. Despite having great social material, however, Nishinoya could only focus on the beautiful boy in front of him. Absentmindedly, he stirred the coffee Asahi made for him (despite the fact that he hated coffee), only to splatter some of it onto Asahi’s pants.

The boy yelped at the searing heat with Nishinoya frantically apologizing in the background and offering desperately conciliatory paper towels. _Well. At least I’m not cleaning up what I got onto Daichi’s shoes._

Somehow, the boy managed to stay for another hour before finally having to go, citing practice as the cause. 

“On a Sunday?” Nishinoya inquired thoughtfully, which was unusual for him.

He tugged at his bun lightly. “Yeah, I think it’s weird too… But I just got a text from Suga saying that we have mandatory practice in half an hour, so I guess there’s nothing I can do.” 

Not suspicious of the Sunday practice for too long, Nishinoya just shrugged. “What can you do.” Suddenly, he perked up. “Asahi, let’s exchange numbers!”

Asahi’s brain short-circuited as he stood flabbergasted by the sociable command. While his cerebral function was down, he quickly and obediently inputted his number into the other boy’s cell. With a look of triumph on his face, Nishinoya gave a whoop.

“I’ll be sure to send you a text later so you have my number too.”

“Sounds good,” Asahi replied cordially, smiling timidly at Nishinoya. His hand slowly turned the knob on the front door, almost as if his wrist knew his mind didn’t want to leave. But with a remorseful wave, Nishinoya closed the door behind Asahi and sighed.

_Would it be weird if I texted him already?_

_Nah._

\---

Asahi had barely made it out of the door before his phone buzzed in his pocket, a message from an unknown number arriving.

**Unknown: Asahime! It’s Noya!**

He let out a hearty laugh before registering Nishinoya as a contact.

**Asahi: Well that was fast**

_Oh man, did that come off the wrong way?_

**Asahi: Not that that’s a bad thing!**  
**Noya: Ahaha, I know. I didn’t want to forget later. Anyway, I guess I should let you go since you have practice. Thanks for spending the night!**  
**Asahi: I should be the one saying thank you… You let me stay in your house!**  
**Noya: ;)**

_A winky face?! What does that mean?!_

He didn’t have long to panic though, the school quickly coming into view. Asahi was surprised to find, however, that only Suga and Daichi stood outside the gym. Suga was cheery as always, but Daichi looked a bit off, even upset, like someone had just stepped on his favorite volleyball.

Walking up beside them, Asahi opened his mouth to speak, only to be cut off by Daichi. “There’s no practice today. Suga conned the both of us.”

“Now, now, you make me out to be such a villain, Daichi.” Suga teased, dragging out the middle ‘i’ sound in the boy’s name.

Asahi stood rigidly with his hands at his side. He wasn’t upset, just curious. “If we don’t actually have volleyball practice today, then why _did_ you call us out here?”

Suga pouted and put his hands on his hips. “Come on, why do we only have to hang out during a practice? Let’s do something!” Asahi and Daichi both looked at each other, as if they hoped to find out what Suga meant through the other person. When neither had a clue, they turned back to Suga and shrugged.

The silver haired boy grinned widely and motioned for them to follow him. During their walk to _wherever_ Suga was taking them, Asahi took his phone back out to contemplate a reply to the last text.

_Should I even reply? Are you supposed to reply to things like winky faces?_

As if he could sense his plight, the fatherly Daichi shifted onto his toes and peered over Asahi’s shoulders. When he saw Nishinoya’s name as the contact, he let out a soft, yet discreet breath. Quickly realizing his mistake, he walked and looked away from Asahi, but Suga wasn’t easily fooled. 

“Asahi, who’re you texting, hm?”

_The love of my life._

“No one.”

“Aw, what would that person say if he knew you called him no one?”

“He wouldn’t be too mad.”

“So you admit it’s a he!”

_Crap, he totally already knows and he’s just playing with me._

Suga licked his hand and attempted to smooth down his cowlick (unsuccessfully) before continuing. “It wouldn’t happen to be someone Daichi and I know, hm?” The tiniest beads of sweat had started to form on Asahi’s forehead. “Someone that’s known to… pour out his life’s story onto other people’s shoes?” Daichi snorted at the last comment.

_Why is he so cruel._

Reaching an arm up and over Asahi’s neck, Suga pulled the tall boy’s head down to his level. “Look, everybody’s got a type, buddy. Yours just happens to be short speedsters with dazzling brown eyes and wild, bleached hair,” Suga chided, giving Asahi a wink. The red on Asahi’s cheeks crept to his ears as he let out a moan.

Daichi gave him a pitying look before placing a firm hand on Suga’s shoulder, who jumped in response. “It’s all right, Asahi. He has a type too,” he cooed, giving Suga a soft peck on the cheek. 

If Asahi thought he was embarrassed before, Suga was far more so now. Still, the bearded boy was shocked by the sudden turn of events. “Are you two…?”

Shaking himself from his stupor, Suga laughed. “Really, Asahi? You didn’t know?” He shook his head. “You can tell you’re in love with Noya but you couldn’t tell that Dai and I were together?”

“Uh...” While Asahi was distracted by his own humiliation, Suga took the time to swipe Asahi’s phone from his inattentive fingers. 

“Aha! You’ll reveal your secrets to me!” Suga’s eyes gazed at the screen in front of him, scanning Asahi’s conversations for juicy tidbits.

“Aw, Asahime?” Asahi just groaned at the mention of the nickname. “That’s so cute!” When he reached the end of the messages, he smirked. “Mm, you know he has a thing for you when he sends the winky face!” 

Asahi buried his face in his hands in a feeble attempt to hide himself from Suga’s ribbing, but Suga’s words reached his ears anyway. Daichi gave him a condoling pat on the shoulder. “There, there, Asahi. We all get the winky face at some point in time,” Daichi reassured, all the while eyeing Suga somewhat suggestively.

_Is this actually a thing? I really wouldn’t put it past them to torment me this much…_

Before he could think on it further, a familiar melody played its way from Asahi’s phone to the three boys’ ears. They quickly crowded around the phone to read the most recent message.

**Noya: So I just saw Sei-san at the convenience store…?**

_Oh no._

“S-Suga, what am I supposed to say?! That you two wheedled me into whatever get together this is and are now interrogating me about my love life?!”

“Just Suga did that.” Daichi stated in an attempt to remove blame from himself.

“Jeez, I’m giving you a free session of lovers therapy and this is the thanks I get?” Suga shook his head. 

“Therapy? What’s wrong with Noya and I’s relationship?”

“So you admit there is a relationship!”

“Suga!”

“Daichi, could you hold Asahi for a sec while I text Noya-kun back?”

“Wait, _what?!_ ” 

Daichi gave Suga a stern look, which Suga countered with the widest eyes and the biggest pout he could’ve mustered. Sighing, Daichi wrapped his arms around Asahi in a bear hug, before muttering, “It’s for your own good…”

Whimpering, all Asahi could do was stare at Suga, who snickered as he typed out his response to Nishinoya.

**Asahi: Oh Sei always skips practice. Don’t worry about it!**

Shifting his weight back on his calves, Suga paused for a moment. When inspiration struck, he cheerily typed out one final message before handing the phone back to Asahi, who looked down at what Suga had done.

_Oh my god._

**Asahi: ;)**

“SUGA!”

\---

Nishinoya stared down at his phone with his mouth agape and his cheeks teeming with redness.

**Asahi: ;)**

_Oh my god._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations for Asahi's many nicknames :D  
> hinode - sunrise  
> hana - flower  
> hentai - pervert (at least literally xD)
> 
> Woweh I had fun writing this chapter. Sometimes I wonder if I'm ever gonna get into angst and then I think of flustered Asahi and am like, "nah." Not sure when the next update will be since AP testing starts next week and I've got a research project due friday, but I'll try to stay dedicated?
> 
> As always, (Asa-always? I definitely typed that out and am really proud of that semi-freudian slip), erh, asa-always, I really hope you enjoyed!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Setting his phone down on the counter, Asahi hummed blissfully while steeping his tea. A night out with Nishinoya sounds delightful… 
> 
> Erh, not that kind of night out!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Totally low-key spoilers for Finding Nemo, but I mean, if you haven't seen Finding Nemo, go watch it now because it's much better than this fic.

It had been six days since Suga sent that message for Asahi and the poor boy was still fretting over it. He couldn’t be blamed, really; Asahi was demure, and really not flirty, so a ‘winky face’ was clearly out of character for the kid. 

_What if he took it the wrong way?!_

But as Asahi thought about it, perhaps there wasn’t really a “wrong way” to take it. Because Asahi definitely had a thing for Nishinoya, even if he wasn’t flirty enough to show it.

As he was setting a kettle of water onto the stove for tea, his phone sounded the jocund tone which Asahi had set specifically for messages from Nishinoya. With great alacrity, the bun-adorned boy got out the source of the noise and read the message.

**Noya:** Hey, if you’re not busy tonight, you wanna go see a movie?

Asahi didn’t take long to reply.

**Asahi:** I’d love to! What were you thinking of seeing?

Setting his phone down on the counter, Asahi hummed blissfully while steeping his tea. _A night out with Nishinoya sounds delightful…_

_Erh, not that kind of night out!_

**Noya:** How about _Night of the Living Dead 2_? It’s the sequel to the old one from the 60’s.

Asahi’s heart sank when he read Nishinoya’s suggestion. _A horror film? I can’t see a horror film…_

**Asahi:** I dunno Noya… I’m not so good with scary movies…  
**Noya:** Come on, it’ll be fun ;)

_Why. Why does he do this to me._

**Asahi:** Alright…  
**Noya:** YES! Okay, I’ll meet you at the theater at like, 8:30?  
**Asahi:** I’ll be there!

_And I’ll be quaking in my boots._

Sighing, Asahi took a tentative sip of his sencha, only to quickly remove his lips from the cup after coming into contact with the scalding liquid. He scowled at his mug, disgruntled by its scorching betrayal.

Historically, Asahi didn’t have a very good run with horror movies. The last time he saw one in theaters, he ran out before the end of the title sequence, taking shelter in the bathroom for the following three hours.

That was two months ago.

He still hadn’t fully forgiven Suga and Daichi for tricking him into thinking he was seeing a rescreening of _Finding Nemo_ , taking him instead to the latest gorefest of a flick. But even then, he’d have left that movie too, right before the shark attack in the first five minutes of the film.

Yeah, Asahi wasn’t very good with scary movies.

That would become evident to Nishinoya quite quickly.

\---

“Is this alright for tonight?” Nishinoya asked his mom, referring to the dark blue jeans and maroon hoodie he was sporting. 

She gave her oldest son a confused look. “When have you ever cared if what you’re wearing was alright for _any_ occasion?”

Nishinoya looked down, pulling at his wrist and muttering, “I dunno…”

His mother turned her head back to the book she was reading. “Remind me, what are you doing tonight?”

“I’m going to the movies!”

“Ah, with whom?”

Nishinoya hesitated, rubbing his hand through his not yet spiked up hair before replying. “Just Asahi.”

The room was silent for a moment as his mother formulated her reply. “Hm,” she intoned, a smirk beginning to form on her lips, “just Asahi?”

He wasn’t sure what she was insinuating with that comment, but he was sure it wasn’t something he wanted to hear about, so he dismissed her words. “Yes, mom. Just Asahi.”

She frowned at his response. “Oh come on, this is the the Asahi that you shared a bed with this past weekend!” 

Nishinoya spluttered for a moment before managing to regain his composure. “H-How did you find out about that?” he managed to stammer. This elicited a chuckle from Kumiko, who shook her head.

“You do realize I’m best friends with Tsuna, right?” Nishinoya grumbled a ‘yes.’ “Mm, and apparently your man likes to share things with his mother, unlike _someone_ I know.” She gave Nishinoya a wink before once again returning to her literature.

He looked down, desperately trying to hide the blush which was quickly forming on his face. “H-He’s not my _man_ …” Kumiko continued to look down at her novel, but Nishinoya could see the corners of her lips curling upward as she silently celebrated her victory. Sighing, he walked out of the kitchen.

“He’s not my man…”

\---

After arriving at the theater, Nishinoya quickly bought his ticket as well as the largest bucket of popcorn available. Looking around, he began to worry if he’d ever be able to find Asahi in all the bustle. But his fears were misplaced, as it was easy to spot the gentle giant, who had managed to get himself stuck holding the door for just about everyone entering and exiting the theater. 

Nishinoya sauntered over to the helpful (helpless?) boy before reminding him that “You don’t have to hold the door for _everyone_. You know that, right?” Asahi managed a weak smile, starting to let go of the door before quickly grabbing hold of it again to let a little girl skip through.

“Sorry…” he muttered, shuffling his feet a little. “This happens more often than it should. I just don’t know how to let go without being rude to people.”

Nishinoya laughed while shaking his head. “Well then how did you stop holding the door in the past?”

“I just waited till everyone had gone through,” Asahi answered simply, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Unfortunately, it sometimes takes a while.”

“Like now?”

Asahi quickly shook his head before replying. “Oh no, this isn’t so bad. I’ve done this for over an hour before.” Nishinoya let out a not so masculine giggle at the thought of the boy standing at a door for an hour before slapping him on the back.

“Come on!” he started before pushing Asahi away from the door. “We’re gonna go see that movie!” Little did he know that Asahi was actually quite content with being stuck at the door, away from anything remotely related to nights with dead that are living. Yelling out a quick apology to the people that he could no longer hold the door for, Asahi solemnly trudged along, propelled by Nishinoya’s steadfast push. 

“Asahi, how much butter do you want on our popcorn?” Nishinoya questioned along the way.

“Our popcorn…?”

“Of course, _our popcorn_ you big lug,” Nishinoya chided, now pulling Asahi by the arm while cradling the jumbo popcorn in the other. “You didn’t seriously think I was gonna eat all of this on my own, did you?”

Asahi looked taken aback, before softening a bit. “I don’t know Noya, from what I’ve seen at your house, you can eat quite a bit of your mother’s cooking…” 

Nishinoya feigned being wounded. He quickly recovered though, deciding to take his revenge by pumping a generous amount of the fatty oil onto their popcorn. Asahi groaned, which caused Nishinoya to revel in his success, licking the remnants of the butter from his index finger.

“You know,” Asahi started, looking slightly concerned, “that dispenser probably wasn’t clean at all…” It was intended to be some sort of reprimand, but it came out as a subdued observation. In response, Nishinoya got on his tiptoes, before lightly flicking Asahi in the nose with his buttery index finger.

The shorter boy found the situation quite humorous, but the taller one was extremely concerned that his nose would soon become infected with “butter disease.” Telling the older boy not to worry, Nishinoya ushered him to the actual screen room, where all of Asahi’s fearful tendencies would be made clear.

Asahi should’ve known it would be bad just from the trailers. Nishinoya informed the boy that the original film didn’t have a rating since the rating system wasn’t in place yet. But it was evident that the sequel was rated “R” due to the obscenities and horrors he saw just in the commercials beforehand. 

When the movie actually began, he kept his head down; not all the way down so that it’d look completely conspicuous, but far enough so that he could keep his eyes down and away from the screen. But even if he couldn’t see the deaths, he could hear them.

Nishinoya may not have been perceptive of many things in life, but the perils that Asahi was currently experiencing was one thing he was able to notice. “Asahi…? Are you alright?”

Not looking up to respond, he gave a slow nod.

Nishinoya wasn’t convinced. “No you’re not. Do you… not like horror movies?” This time, Nishinoya was met with the gaze of a fearful boy, who nodded once again. Nishinoya mentally slapped himself for ignoring Asahi’s earlier text about how he wasn’t good with scary movies.

A violent crash sounded from the speakers as another character met their demise, causing Asahi to bury his face in Nishinoya’s shoulder and whimper. Not wanting Asahi to have to endure any more of it, Nishinoya stood up and took him by the hand, leading him out of the theater. 

Thinking back on all the times one of his siblings was scared, Nishinoya decided it was best to get Asahi seated somewhere. He turned and looked up at the frightened boy. “Would you like to go sit on a bench outside for a bit?” Asahi nodded his assent as they began to walk outside, Nishinoya holding the door so that Asahi wouldn’t get stuck once again. 

“I’ll text my mom to tell her to pick us up, okay?” Asahi let out a pitiable moan that Nishinoya could only take as a yes. They took their seats next to each other on a metal bench just a ways away from the theater entrance. “You know, you could’ve told me you didn’t like stuff like this… I would’ve been completely fine with it. I thought when you said you weren’t good with stuff like this, you meant you just hadn’t seen many of them.”

Asahi whimpered again before apologizing: “Sorry…”

“Don’t apologize! This is in _no_ way your fault!” Nishinoya frowned before making an offer to Asahi: “Lay your head on my shoulder and try to rest. It’s what I tell Shu or Nori to do when they get scared.” Not at all offended by being treated like a child, Asahi contentedly complied, leaning over to let his head rest on Nishinoya’s firm shoulder.

Looking up at the stars, Nishinoya sighed. He sure felt crummy for subjecting Asahi to something so horrible for him. “Hey, Asahi?”

Not moving his head from its spot on Nishinoya’s shoulder, Asahi replied with: “Yeah?”

“I’m really sorry.”

Surprisingly, Asahi chuckled, confusing Nishinoya greatly. “You know, I only agreed to see that movie because I just wanted to hang out with you tonight.”

“What?! It didn’t occur to you that I might like other movies too?” 

Asahi smiled, his jaw widening from its position on his the other boy’s shoulder. “Well, I thought you might have, but I didn’t want to risk it.”

Nishinoya didn’t know why, but Asahi’s comment made his heart beat slightly faster and his face feel slightly warmer. “You doofus…” he said endearingly, rubbing small circles on his back with his hand. Asahi hummed happily as he sank further into Nishinoya’s neck.

After a while, the boy on his shoulder fell into a deep sleep, his snores echoing into the night. Nishinoya got a few weird looks from people exiting the theater, but he didn’t mind. After all, he had his crush sleeping on him. He was plenty distracted by that. 

In the distance, Nishinoya spotted the lights of his mother’s car, slowly pulling up towards the theater. He was almost a little sad to see it coming, as he knew that its arrival meant having to wake up Asahi from his beatific slumber to get him into the car. He even considered sending his mom a text to tell her to come back in an hour, but he decided against it.

Nishinoya let out a soft breath and smiled as the innocent boy slumped against him lightly snuffled. “Yeah mom, he’s not my man.” He ran his hand through Asahi’s long hair before finishing. “He’s the glass-hearted, bearded love of my life.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those unfamiliar with the MPAA rating system for movies, an "R" rating stands for "Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian." So... they shouldn't have been able to see it, probs? Well, the MPAA is American and this is fiction so we're gonna pretend it's fine.
> 
> Sorry if this seems really rushed, because it DEFINITELY was. Exam coming up on Monday, then Thursday, then Mon, tues, wed. So I wanted to crank out SOMETHING before that hellish adventure. If you enjoyed, leave a comment, or a kudos if you haven't yet! They make meh happy. I smile when I read them (but like, not in a weird way? jk you can definitely only smile at those things weirdly)
> 
> ANYWHO. Hope you enjoyed!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nishinoya is forced to reveal stuff to his friends and Asahi is teased a lot.

Nishinoya needed help.

Now, this help wasn’t the kind of help that could be easily found. After all, he didn’t need help financially. Or socially. Or even with school.

…

On second thought, he probably needed help with school.

But what he most desperately needed help with was a shy, long haired, well-tanned, bearded, toned, boy with a bun. And as much as he hated to ask for his help, he soon found himself in the company of a familiar, red-haired boy that he lost a bet to.

Kumagai remembered all too well the boy that Nishinoya was infatuated with from their experience at the salon. He took particular delight in recalling the slight annoyance that the hairdresser expressed at Nishinoya driving away his customer by telling him his hair looked good.

“So, you finally admit you have a problem, then?” Kumagai pondered questioningly, a slight smile on his lips.

Nishinoya stamped his foot a little before stammering, “I-I don’t have a problem!”

Kumagai clicked his tongue in response, shaking his head at his friend. “Don’t you remember anything from our psych class?” The blank stare that he received in return gave him his answer. Sighing, he continued. “The five stages of grief, Noya.”

“Grief? I’m not in grief! Nor do I have a problem!”

“Ah, see but that’s the first stage. Denial. Come on, Noya. We both know you have a thing for bun boy.”

“Bun boy?!” Nishinoya spluttered. He sank into the couch before correcting his friend. “His name is Asahi…”

Kumagai offered a smile that was both apologetic and condescending, managing to pity and take joy in his friend’s predicament all at the same time. “Now, now Nishinoya, I just want what’s best for you.”

Nishinoya scoffed at the comment. “When have you _ever_ wanted what’s best for me, Kuma?”

The red-haired boy clutched at his chest in response. “Yuu-boo, how _could_ you?” After expressing his mock pain, he smirked before sitting on Nishinoya, who reacted with a grunt. “Now I’m gonna stay here until you admit your undying love for Asshime, or whatever his name was. Alright? And if you still don’t give in, I might be forced to go the tickle route.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Oh I would, Yuu-boo.”

Nishinoya groaned, attempting to push Kumagai off of him, only to have his arms restrained by his friend’s legs. When he didn’t succeed, he let out a haughty ‘humph’ and sat back in the couch.

Frowning, Kumagai stated, “I didn’t want to have to do this… But you give me no choice.” He flicked his wrists a few times to stretch out his hands before he reached them under himself towards Nishinoya’s exposed sides. 

He started lightly, his fingers dancing their way up and down his torso, causing the first bits of laughter to rumble in Nishinoya’s chest. “Kuma--” Nishinoya started, but he was quickly cut off as Kumagai began to feather under his armpits. Nishinoya struggled to contain the short bursts of giggles that resulted.

“Kuma, please!” he tried again, only to be silenced by a hand over his mouth as the other kept working.

“Mm, this could be over if you’d just admit it, Noya.” Nishinoya could hear the frown in his voice, even though the boy on top of him was clearly enjoying tormenting him. 

Suddenly, both hands were attacking Nishinoya, who couldn’t restrain the violent bouts of laughter that followed. “K-Kuma! KUMA!” 

“Hm…? What did you say?”

“KUMA-ahahahaha-AAA! I HATE YOU!”

Kumagai lessened his efforts slightly as he shook his head. “Not grieving _my ass_. That was totally stage two: anger.” He shifted his weight slightly on top of Nishinoya, making sure the smaller boy couldn’t wriggle out from underneath him. 

Letting out another groan that was defined by its giddiness, Nishinoya attempted to sway his friend’s opinion with incentives: “I-I’ll get you Gari-Gari Kun! Ahahaha--for a wee--ahaha--I mean a mon--AHAHA--KUMA STOP I’LL GET YOU GARI-GARI KUN FOR A YEAR!”

“Tut, tut, Noya-kun. You’re already moving onto the bargaining stage of the grieving process!”

With a great heave (and possibly a “ROLLING THUNDERRRR!”), Nishinoya pushed Kumagai off and sent him tumbling onto the floor. “I don’t need you psychoanalyzing me, Kuma!”

“Ooh, such a big word, Yuu-boo.” He wiped a crocodile tear from his cheek. “My little boy is growing up so fast--”

“Shut up, Kuma--”

“Ah ah ah, we’re already past the anger stage, you’re not allowed to yell at me.” Kumagai chided in return. Nishinoya sighed before once again sinking into the couch, somehow managing to get himself further entrenched in the cushions. 

He chuckled weakly before asking Kumagai, “So what stage am I in now, then?”

Kumagai looked at him with discerning eyes before pushing the bridge of some invisible glasses up his face. “Ah, yes. It would seem that you’ve reached stage four: depression.” Nishinoya scoffed at the idea of him being depressed before realizing that he was actually a bit sad that he wasn’t with Asahi at the moment.

_Shit. I’m grieving over not being with Asahi_.

Seeing Nishinoya’s gears turning and the realization appear on his face, Kumagai made a final comment: “The final stage of grief: acceptance. You’ve reached it. Now are you willing to admit to me that you have a thing for Asshime?”

“Asahi.”

“So yes.”

“... Yes.”

“Yes, what, exactly Yuu-boo?”

Nishinoya looked at the ground in front of him, heat rising to his cheeks before he stammered, “Y-Yes, I have a thing for A-Asahi…”

After hearing those wonderful words, Kumagai stood up immediately, grabbing Nishinoya’s hand and shaking it. “Thank you, Noya!” He smiled victoriously. “You’re an inspiration to us all!”

“Would you _shut up_ , Kuma?!”

\---

Asahi sat at the counter of the local coffee shop while delicately sipping his tea. Flanking him on either side were Suga and Daichi who, for some _ungodly_ reason, refused to change their current topic of discussion. That is to say, Asahi’s obvious crush on the dynamo with bleached hair.

“You know,” Suga started, “are you sure you’re not too old to be legally hanging out with Noya-kun? I mean, with your goatee and bun and his slightly lower than average center of gravity, people could easily mistake you for a child predator…”

“S-Suga!” Asahi spluttered, hiding his face in his hands. Daichi distractedly stirred his coffee and cream, lightly patting Asahi on the back in a reassuring manner. It only caused the poor boy to jump, however. 

“You know, I never really took you for the romantic type, Asahi,” Daichi muttered, before continuing. “I guess you must’ve picked up a few things from Suga.” He winked at his boyfriend after that comment, causing the normally collected boy to blush in his seat.

Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, Suga moaned. “Daiiii, you can’t just wink at me in public. It’s hard enough just having to see your thighs…”

This evoked some laughter in the previously embarrassed Asahi, and he took another sip from his tea. “I still can’t believe it took me this long to figure out that you two were together.” Suddenly, Asahi realized he was cutting the two lovebirds off from one another by sitting in between them. “Oh, should I move so you can sit next to each other?!”

Both of them chuckled before Suga waved his hand. “Nah, it’s alright, Asahi. This meeting is for _you_. So let’s talk about that movie…” Asahi flinched at the mention of the other night’s experience. 

_How does he even know about that?!_

As if he could read his thoughts, Suga pulled out his phone, loading up some social media app before showing Asahi a post. Asahi peered at the screen, noticing first and foremost the large picture of Asahi sleeping with his head on Nishinoya’s shoulder. Blushing, he allowed his eyes to travel downward to read the caption:

‘Brought this gentle giant to see _Night of the Living Dead 2_! How was I supposed to know he didn’t like horror movies?! Decided to sit outside for a bit--’

“N-Noya took a picture of me while I was sleeping?!” Asahi’s apparent shock caused Suga to giggle a bit, which earned him a somewhat reprimanding glare from Daichi.

Frowning, Suga took his phone back from Asahi. “Come on, Asahi. Who _wouldn’t_ want a picture of you sleeping on them on their phone?” he asked, acting as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Sug, come on,” Daichi admonished playfully. “Your teasing is gonna cause all his blood to go to his face.” _As if it isn’t all already there_ , Asahi thought silently to himself. “Asahi, take this however slowly you want to take it. Suga and I were friends long before we decided to take it a step further.” He leaned over the tall boy’s back to give his boyfriend a flick in the ear, which caused Suga to yelp. 

“You’re so mean, Dai. And hey, you aren’t guilt free for teasing Asahi! We both took him to see that one movie--”

“You said it would be _Finding Nemo_!”

“--and when you ran out of the theater and cried in the bathroom, we took you home and watched _The Lion King_ and you still freaked out!”

Daichi sighed at the mischievous banter that his boyfriend was taking part in. He probably didn’t express it that often, but he always had found Suga’s impish side kind of cute. Of course, when Suga was teasing _him_ , he was overly flustered and inherently red in the face. He wasn’t as appreciative at those times.

“Tell you what, Asahi. Give me your phone and I can solve all your problems,” Suga assured him, but there was an obvious grin starting to form on his face that gave him away.

“No.” Asahi replied with an unusual and unfitting firmness, demonstrating his extreme enmity towards the idea of Suga with his phone _again_. “I learned my lesson the last time.” After finishing that sentence, Asahi thought about the last time Suga took his phone. “Wait, the last time, you just _stole_ my phone from me!”

“Ah, but you weren’t looking then,” Suga slyly responded, clicking his tongue. “Unfortunately, you’ve been paying quite a bit more attention to the dang thing, and I haven’t had a chance to swipe it!” he finished, winking at Asahi. 

The familiar sound and smell of fresh coffee being poured into a mug wafted into the three boys’ noses as a girl with raven hair refilled Daichi and Suga’s cups with her pour-over kettle. “You know, it’s not my place to judge the customers, but don’t you think you’ve done enough to this poor boy?” The girl, who had glasses and a beauty mark on the side of her chin, wore a nametag that read ‘Shimizu’.

“Kiyokooooo, he needs this. More than he realizes!” Suga complained to the girl he was apparently already acquainted with. 

She rolled her eyes at the waggish boy. “And you think you’re qualified to help him? Let me remind you that you two,” she said, pointing to Daichi and Suga, “are only together because of me.”

Daichi looked thoughtfully across the counter at Suga. “She’s right you know.”

Suga grumbled incoherently while Asahi stared earnestly at Kiyoko. She gave him a calm smile and extended a hand. “Shimizu Kiyoko. Call me Kiyoko, though.” 

Asahi reached out and shook her hand, returning the smile. “Azumane Asahi, but you can call me Asahi.”

“Would you like my advice, Asahi? Or at least my advice based on all the teasing from Suga that I’ve overheard.” The long haired boy blushed at her comment, before facing her and giving a shy nod. 

“Flowers.”

He sat, puzzled. “Flowers?”

“Flowers. Think about that for a moment. I’m gonna head into the back to grab something real quick.” With that, she turned and headed towards a door marked _Employees Only_ , pushing it open and walking through.

Asahi turned to the boys seated next to him and repeated his question. “Flowers?”

Daichi chuckled before responding. “Yeah…” he started, rubbing the back of his neck, “she helped me pick out flowers for Suga when she found out I had a crush on him.”

“Mm, it was a gardenia,” Suga hummed, seeming to cherish the memory. He lowered his voice to explain its meaning. “Secret love,” he whispered, the hushed words barely leaving his mouth. Daichi managed to stealthily reach his arm around Asahi to pinch Suga’s butt. 

Suga let out a yelp before having his face succumb to a red state. _Amazing_ , Asahi thought. _Only Daichi could manage to unnerve Suga so easily… Is that what love can do?_ His thoughts didn’t linger there for long, as Kiyoko had returned from the employee area with a book in hand.

“Page 32. That’s my suggestion.” She stood still for a moment, most likely trying to think of anything else to mention. “Oh, this should probably be obvious, but… Make sure you get more than one flower, Asahi.”

Daichi seemed to blush at that comment, and Suga let out a hearty laugh. _I suppose Suga did say ‘it was a gardenia’ rather than ‘they were gardenias’_...

Asahi took the book from Kiyiko, thanking her excessively for her help. “Really, it’s alright Asahi.” She smiled. “I’m always happy to help out a friend of Daichi’s.”

“Hey!” Suga protested.

“--or a friend of Suga’s, _I suppose_ ,” she finished, grinning at Suga, who sat back contentedly in his chair. 

As she walked away to go help other customers, Asahi turned to the page that she had mentioned. He quickly noticed the picture of the flower, which was bright red in color and composed of petals arranged in a cup shape. “Red tulips…?” he muttered under his breath.

His eyes continued to scan the page until he came across the meaning of the flower.

_Declaration of love_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's that?! The mysterious OC that showed up in ch. 2 and 3 showed up again?! 
> 
> So I definitely have way too much tickling in this fic. Whoops. 
> 
> I'm done with the research paper and two of the ap tests (yey for pollution and calculus). Three to go, but what's studying anyway. Your comments are always so amazing, so if you have the time, let me know what you thought! Hope you enjoyed!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asahi shook his head.
> 
> "I’m so screwed."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ERMAHGOODNESS I'M SO SORRY THIS IS SUPER-DUPER LATE! Time got away from me, what with ap testing and graduation. But it's all done now! (especially since I've finished failing physics c whoops). Hope you enjoy!

Asahi’s trip to the local florist’s was less than cordial at first. 

He was greeted (or rather, not greeted) by a tall, disingenuous employee with glasses. The boy looked to be at least two years younger than him, yet he still managed to beat out Asahi by a couple of centimeters. Despite clearly seeing him enter, the blonde remained fixated on whatever song he was listening to with his over-the-ear headphones, unperturbed by the chime that signaled the arrival of a customer.

“Um… Excuse me…” Asahi managed to mutter, although it would’ve been hard for someone to hear his words even if they weren’t already listening to music. He nervously scratched the back of his neck as he waited for the reply that would never come. 

As he stood helpless, he glanced around the small shop. In spite of its slightly shoddy outward appearance, the inside was teeming with life--small shrubs, delicately hued flowers, and healthy saplings all decorated the rustic interior. 

He took a deep breath, allowing the myriad odors to collect in his nose. Surprisingly, it wasn’t an overwhelming scent. They combined quite nicely, creating a redolent and natural fragrance that signified that this was a place of life.

Of course, the boy at the counter remained lifeless. 

Soon after, a new boy arrived from the back section of the shop. “Tsukki!” he scolded, aiming the remark at the disinterested worker. He looked to be the same age as the boy, but about ten centimeters shorter, with freckles and longish brown hair that was topped with an ahoge. 

Finally, the boy, ‘Tsukki’, responded, turning his head ever so slightly towards the other boy. “Yes?”

The freckled boy frowned, looking at the blonde before pointing his head towards Asahi.

“Oh.” He sighed before removing his headphones. “Welcome to Flora Miyagi, your local leader in foliage and plants.” His words were dry and dragged out, as if the rehearsed introduction were the most boring thing in the world. “My name is Tsukishima and--”

“Tsukki, at least _pretend_ to like working here!”

He paused before continuing. “And this man,” he started, pointing to the freckled kid, “will be happy to answer any questions you have regarding our selections.” With that, he put his headphones back on and returned to his unconcerned position.

“Sorry about him,” the other boy started, running a hand through his hair to slick back the strand that stood up. It promptly returned to its upright stance. “My name is Yamaguchi Tadashi. What’re you in for today, sir?”

Finally getting a chance to speak, Asahi stammered. “Seriously, I’m not much older than you… You can call me Asahi.”

Yamaguchi flashed him a nearly lunar smile. “Alright Asahi! How can I help you?”

“W-Well, a friend of mine--erh, a friend of a friend of mine, that is--well, I think I could say she’s a friend of mine too--”

“Yes?” Yamaguchi interrupted, causing Asahi to drop his shoulders in relief.

“Well, a friend of mine--uh, sorry! A _person_ recommended a type of flower that I should get for someone. Do you happen to have red tulips…?”

Yamaguchi chuckled for a moment before replying with “Of course!” as if it were the most obvious thing. Then again, he _was_ in a flower shop. “A declaration of love, eh?”

Asahi blushed fiercely, tugging at the collar of his shirt. “Uh… Well--”

Another laugh from the worker. “Now, now, it’s not my business to meddle in other people’s affairs.” He hesitated for a second, before revising his statement. “Actually, I suppose it’s _entirely_ my business to meddle in other people’s affairs. After all, flowers are one of the universal love languages!” He winked at Asahi, causing the bearded boy to blush even more.

Tsukishima, who was seemingly not listening, offered a short sentence. “I apologize for my coworker’s behavior, especially if it makes you uncomfortable.”

_Not completely disinterested, I guess._

“Tsukkiiii,” Yamaguchi whined, giving the tall boy a playful smirk. Asahi wondered if there was something going on between them, but quickly dismissed the thought as he realized that he didn’t have time to think about other people’s relationships if he couldn’t even handle his own.

“I-It’s fine! Really, if this amount of teasing bothered me, I wouldn’t have even hung out with the friend that introduced me to his friend that… Uh...” Yamaguchi gave him an appeasing smile as Asahi struggled to explain his situation. “W-Well, I wouldn’t have gotten the flower advice!”

He relaxed as he let out a long breath. _Talking with other people is hard_ , he thought privately. 

“I understand completely,” Yamaguchi replied. “Just in case though, I’ll try and tone it down a bit.” He chuckled before walking around the store to locate the red tulips. Upon finding them, he leaned down and felt the batch, searching for the best ones that were currently in bloom. When he was satisfied with the flowers he picked, he returned to Asahi.

Yamaguchi stretched out his arms and beamed at Asahi. “Whoever these are for, I’m sure they’ll love them!” Asahi smiled shyly at Yamaguchi before taking the tulips from his hands.

“T-Thank you so much…” Asahi looked down at the flowers now in his own hands. They looked so fragile when compared to his own calloused knuckles. He worried that by tightening his grip only a little, he would end the lives of those flowers. 

Noticing this, Yamaguchi placed a consoling hand on his shoulder. “No need to be worried. I handpicked these tulips myself, so I know they’re resilient!” Asahi expressed his deep gratitude and tried to leave extra money as a tip, but the younger boy wouldn’t have it. As he opened the door to leave, he waved goodbye to the kind worker.

“Goodbye Asahi! Good luck tonight! I’m sure whoever they’re for is lucky to have you in their life!” The last comment caused a bit of red to flow into his cheeks, but he held onto his pride and smiled back.

_Great work, Asahi. If I get that flustered in front of random people, I can’t wait to find out how tonight will go._

He sighed audibly before he began his walk to Nishinoya’s house. His mother was expecting him, but the young boy was not. Asahi wondered what he would say when he arrived.

_‘Hey, I don’t know if you knew this, but I think you’re really hot and here are some flowers because people give hot people flowers.’_

_‘Your hand looks kinda heavy. Let me hold it for you.’_

_‘I know somebody who likes you, but if I weren’t so shy I’d tell you who.’_

Asahi shook his head.

_I’m so screwed._

\---

“Look mom, if I knew where it was, I would’ve told you by now!” Nishinoya was getting impatient with her. Despite him assuring her that he had not taken her hairspray from her bathroom at _any_ given time, she still insisted that he did and that he had lost it.

“Don’t take that tone with me! I know you used it to slick up your hair the other day!”

“That was Nori’s!”

“Yuu--” His mother stood with her hands balled into fists. She clearly was equally impatient with her son. “Look, I don’t mind that you use hairspray. I don’t mind that you like boys.” Nishinoya cringed. “But I do mind when you lie to me!”

Nishinoya stamped his feet. “I’m not lying! Why can’t you trust me?!” He exhaled deeply. “You know what? I’m done.” He turned away from his mother and headed up the stairs. “I’ll be in my room if you need me.”

“Yuu--”

“Thanks for trusting your own son.”

“Yuu!” Her voice was cut off by the sound of his door slamming shut. _Why can’t she trust me?!_ He pounded his fist into the door and yelled. _Her own son_ … Slowly, he sank down into a sitting position against the door. Before he knew it, he felt a slight moisture around his eyes.

“W-What…?” He rubbed his eyes, shocked by the fact that he was crying over this. Letting out a slight sniffle, he groaned. “Pathetic.”

He wasn’t sure how long he sat against the door, but he knew it was more than half an hour, judging by the change in the natural lighting of the room as the sun passed below his window. He hadn’t eaten dinner yet, but he wasn’t about to leave his room to go get a snack. 

No, that would mean giving into his mom, who was wrong anyway. So he would stay in his room. He would be hungry, but he would be preventing his mom from winning. From down below, he heard someone knock at the door. He wondered who it was, but he wasn’t going to leave his room to find out.

But his curiosity only increased when he heard the excited yelling of both Shuji and Noriko at the arrival of the unknown guest. 

_Maybe I could go see_ \--

He shook his head. _No_. Wiping more tears from his face, he sniffled. “I _can’t_ …”

Nishinoya buried his face in his hands, allowing himself to cry a little louder. 

After a while, he heard footsteps coming up the stairs and towards his room. A light knock indicated that someone was outside his room.

“Go away!”

“Noya?” 

_Asahi?_

Nishinoya stood up from his place of wallowing and hesitantly opened the door. When he saw the boy with the bun through the crack, his spirits were lifted just a bit. “Asahi?” He sniffed before turning away to wipe any evidence that he had been crying. “What are you doing here?”

“Noya…” The taller boy wore a concerned look, probably noticing the puffiness that encircled Nishinoya’s eyes. 

Despite all his efforts, Nishinoya couldn’t look at Asahi for more than a few seconds before bursting into tears. The lacrimal flow coursed down his cheeks, washing his face with glimmering sorrow. He looked down to avoid Asahi’s gaze.

_God this is embarrassing… Why can’t I stop crying…?_

Suddenly, Nishinoya was enveloped in a soft warmth. Asahi wrapped his arms around him and pulled him in close, close enough that Nishinoya’s head found itself a nice perch in Asahi’s neck.

_Asa--hi…?_

The gentle giant’s hand found its way to the back of Nishinoya’s head, massaging his scalp through the oily hair. Nishinoya burrowed his head further into Asahi’s neck.

_He’s so warm_ …

They remained in the same positions for a while, Nishinoya taking in Asahi’s scent, Asahi continuing to hold the smaller boy close to him. 

_Should I move…? I don’t want to_ …

Asahi cleared his throat before speaking softly. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Nishinoya shook his head against Asahi’s neck, his bleached hair rubbing up against the bottom of Asahi’s chin. The bigger boy giggled in response. “Noya, that tickles--”

“Thank you,” Nishinoya breathed.

Asahi held him closer. “No problem, Yuu.” Nishinoya moved his head back to look up at Asahi, slightly surprised.

The older boy looked like a deer in headlights. “Did I say something wrong…?”

Nishinoya chuckled before letting his head return to Asahi’s shoulder. “Not at all. I just liked that you used my name.” Asahi blinked a few times, apparently not realizing he had done that. 

He smiled. “Would you like me to call you that in the future?”

Nuzzled up contentedly against him, Nishinoya responded. “I’d love that.” Without warning, Nishinoya’s stomach let out a resonant growl, his belly rumbling against Asahi. Both boys laughed heartily at the complaint that Nishinoya’s tummy had made.

Nishinoya lazily rubbed the back of his head. “Sorry, I guess I still haven’t eaten dinner yet.”

“Would you like to go out to eat?” Quickly, however, Asahi shook his head. “Wait, don’t answer that yet.” He opened the door and began to exit. “I’ll be right back, I promise.”

It was only a few moments, but those moments lasted an indefinite amount of time to Nishinoya. He just longed to be in Asahi’s warm arms once more. 

When Asahi returned, he seemed to be holding something behind his back. “What’cha you hiding back there, Asahi?”

Slowly, he moved his hands from around his back to reveal the hidden object. What came into view was not what Nishinoya was expecting; a bundle of red flowers, tied neatly together with a silk ribbon. Asahi held them out to Nishinoya.

“I-If I could, I’d like to rephrase my earlier question.” Nishinoya remained where he was, mouth wide open. “Would you like to go out to eat, like on a date?” Asahi twisted uncomfortably in his spot. “I mean, it’s totally okay if you want to just be friends, and I really wouldn’t mind if--”

Nishinoya shut him up by getting on his toes and pressing his lips to Asahi’s. Asahi’s eyes widened at first before he eased into the kiss, placing his hands on Nishinoya’s cheeks, letting the flowers fall forgotten to the floor. Asahi’s lips were warm and soft, and the kiss was everything Nishinoya wanted and more. After some time, their lips regretfully parted.

Nishinoya looked up into Asahi’s eyes and smiled. “I’d love to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY. Whew. 
> 
> So the next chapter will probably be the last, and it'll likely be more epilogue-ish, so I hope that's alright. Again, I'm REALLY sorry for the wait. I'll try to have the last chapter done before this Saturday if I'm lucky. Anyway.
> 
> Hope y'all have an awesome week and I hope you enjoyed! Leave a comment or a kudos if you did!


	11. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A final meeting of the four friends. Fluff through and through.

\- _Three Weeks Later_ -

Nishinoya returned from Asahi’s kitchen to his place on the couch right next to the boy, his tea (freshly made by Asahi) in hand. A few days earlier, Asahi had decided to invite Suga, Daichi, and Nishinoya over to hang out and have some tea. 

Suga teased the gentle giant for the notion of drinking tea like a bunch of old folks, but he eventually gave in and agreed to come with Daichi. Naturally, Nishinoya was all for the idea, eager to hang out with the kids that he’d soon be teammates with. 

Once situated on the sofa, Nishinoya raised his mug to his lips, only to quickly pull away from the blistering liquid. He frowned and rubbed his lips and tongue, looking to Asahi for comfort. The taller boy laughed softly before planting a kiss on his boyfriend’s forehead.

Meanwhile, Suga and Daichi looked on, shocked at the sudden turn of events.

“Oh…” Asahi rubbed the back of his head. “I guess we didn’t tell you guys…” He gave his two friends a sheepish grin before pulling Nishinoya close enough to place his head on his shoulder.

Suga, mouth wide, slowly got up and walked over to where Asahi was sitting.

And then he punched him. Repeatedly.

“Why! Didn’t! You! Tell! Me!” Suga whined as he battered Asahi’s strong arms, who let out only a soft ‘Oof’ in reply.

Nishinoya simpered at a distressed Asahi before directing a retort towards Suga. “You didn’t tell me that you and Daichi were together!” Daichi, who was unaware that Nishinoya knew, spat out some of the tea he was drinking, eliciting laughter from his partner. 

“I suppose it’s fair then,” Suga conceded, returning to his seat next to Daichi. “But pull something like this again and I’ll punch you somewhere else, Asahi!” Asahi cringed in his seat and quickly nodded his assent.

Daichi hid his face on Suga’s shoulder. “Is it that obvious?” he whimpered.

“Well, it is if you’re always putting your face in my neck!” Suga teased.

Daichi quickly got up, his blush evident as he scratched the back of his head. “W-Well, that’s probably a good point…”

They laughed earnestly at the dark-haired boy’s plight. As their mirth echoed off of the walls, Nishinoya couldn’t help but consider how lucky he was to be where he was right at that moment; with two friends that he loved and the boy that he loved even more. 

“So, I want to know everything! Which one of you confessed first? How?” Suga was desperate to get all the details he could.

Asahi and Nishinoya looked at each other before Asahi affirmed that he could tell the story.

Nishinoya sat up in his seat with glee. “So I had gotten into an argument with my mom--we’ve settled it by the way; I was right in every way possible--and I ended up shutting myself in my room.” 

_And I cried a lot, but you don’t need to know about that._

“Eventually, this old lug,” he continued, wrapping his arm around Asahi’s side, “showed up outside my bedroom door. After nearly hugging me to death, he ran downstairs and grabbed these beautiful, red flowers.” Nishinoya frowned. “They ended up on the floor, though.”

Suga gasped, covering his mouth with his hands. “Asahi, how _could_ you? And I thought it was bad that Daichi only got me _one_ flower…”

Holding his hands up in defense, Asahi replied, “W-Wait, I can’t take all the blame for it!” Daichi and Suga gave him a confused look, wondering how anyone else could be blamed for him dropping the flowers.

Nishinoya smirked. “I may or may not have kissed Asahi to make him stop talking.”

Suga couldn’t contain the smile that began to take shape across his face. He was equally unable to contain his excitement as he began punching Daichi in the chest hysterically. “Suga-AGH, Suga sweetie please sto-AGH-p!”

“Oh, sorry Dai.” He looked genuinely concerned, although there was a hint of playfulness in his voice, so Nishinoya wasn’t entirely sure. “But Noya-kun… So aggressive!” Suga winked at Nishinoya, who turned stark red at the comment, as did Asahi. 

“I-It wasn’t _aggressive_ …” Nishinoya stammered. He turned to face Asahi before continuing, whispering to him, “Was it really aggressive?”

“N-No, not at all!”

“Okay good, Suga got me worried…”

“That’s just who Suga is: a sadistic tormentor.”

“Wait, does that make Daichi a masochist?!”

“We’re right here, you know!” Suga interrupted, waving his arms out in front of them. Daichi was silent, blushing furiously at the other side of the room.

Nishinoya chuckled at Daichi’s grief. “I don’t know how you do it, buddy,” he started, directing his words toward Daichi. “I really do have to wonder if you enjoy being punched in the gut.” Daichi’s cheeks now were now flushed the same hue as the red tulips that Asahi got for Nishinoya.

“I don’t get it,” Asahi muttered. “He seems so confident when we’re playing volleyball…”

“It’s different with you, Asahi. You’re never confident, and then when you’re being teased by your boyfriend, you’re even less confident,” Suga chided, waggling a finger at the bearded boy. 

From afar, presumably the kitchen, Asahi’s mother chimed in. “He’s less confident when he’s teased by anyone, Sugawara-kun!” 

Asahi nodded furiously. “Thanks mom! … I think?” He paused, unsure of whether or not he could consider his mother’s words as ‘support.’ Shrugging he decided that she was on his side. “You know, I thought having everyone over for tea would’ve made for a much more calming atmosphere… But so far there’s been more ribbing than any one person needs in a lifetime…”

“All in good faith, Asahime!”

Groaning, Asahi placed a hand to his forehead. “Not again…”

Suddenly, Nishinoya burst into unadulterated laughter. “What’s so funny, eh Noya-kun?” Suga wondered.

“Nothing,” he replied simply, “just thinking about a nickname a friend of mine gave to Asahi.”

Leaning forward, Suga implored further: “Which was…?”

Nishinoya hesitated before answering gleefully. “ _Asshime_!”

Asahi assumed his nearly regular “deer in headlights” look before stuttering, “A-Asshime?!” While Suga and Daichi shook with mirth, Asahi hid his embarrassment as he buried his head on Nishinoya’s shoulder and whimpered. 

“I don’t know why you’re so embarrassed by that name, Asahi. You really do have a nice butt.” Nishinoya stated crudely.

“Yuu!” Nishinoya smiled at his boyfriend, taking joy in the fact that Asahi called him by his given name. 

They were an interesting crew: a teasing sadist, a friendly masochist, a sheepish giant, and a fiery dwarf. But Nishinoya was looking forward to every moment he’d spend with them at Karasuno, on the court and off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this is it! Guh, my first fic is finally complete.
> 
> It's quite a relief to be honest. But I'm so glad I decided to do this. I have plans (so many plans) for future stuff, mainly thinking about a hospital au right now but who knows. 
> 
> On a side note, I finally got myself a copy of Bravely Second (anyone play Bravely Default? I'd love to hear your opinion on the game in the comment section if you have) and am super pumped to play it. 
> 
> Second side note, thank you akishimes for beta'ing this last chapter since I had no idea whether or not I was ending this right
> 
> Honestly, thank you all SO MUCH for the support you've given me throughout this process. Gotta admit, this woulda been dreadful if I had gone through the whole thing without anyone wanting to read it xD
> 
> Until next time!
> 
> \- Cephas


End file.
